Sparks Fly
by AccioMagic13
Summary: Rose Weasley is in her sixth year at Hogwarts. Trying to juggle her homework and a social life, she has no time for a proper boyfriend. But when she starts to notice Scorpius Malfoy, maybe there is a little
1. The Hogwarts Express

Rose Weasley watched the countryside rush by in a blur. Sitting on the Hogwarts Express, speeding towards her second home. Leaning her head against the glass window, she was lost in her thoughts, day-dreaming about the upcoming year at Hogwarts."What do you think sixth year's going to be like Rose?" asked her friend Alice asked. "Rose are you even listening to me? Rose!"  
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Rose answered, startled out of her reverie. She looked up to see her best friend's startling blue eyes looking at her, her shoulder-length, golden-blonde hair falling in front of her eyes.  
"I simply asked what you think this year will be like?" Alice said, sighing at her friend's absent-mindedness.  
"Oh, um, I don't know. Fun, I hope."  
"Congratulations on your O.W.L results, they were so good! You should be proud!"  
Rose just smiled at her friend.  
"No really, you should be. Six Outstandings and three Exceeds Exceptions! You've got some serious brains in that head of yours." Alice continued, "I can't wait to start Apparation lessons. It will be so much easier to go everywhere once we have our license, and these lessons will really help us. We're so lucky we'll be seventeen by the test date next year. Amelia was devastated when she saw the cut-off date, poor thing."  
As Alice continued to wonder about the year, Rose dazed off again, dreaming about nothing in particular, just simply letting her mind wander. Alice realised her friend was no longer listening, recognising the familiar far away look in her eyes, so she gave up on trying to engage her in the conversation and pulled out her book and quickly becoming lost in its fictional world. Moments later, a young, redhead boy opened the compartment door, startling both girls inside. "Hugo what do you want?" Rose asked, annoyed to see her younger brother, as he rarely talked to her turning the school term unless he wanted something.  
"No need to be so harsh, Sister dear." Hugo said sarcastically. "I just wandered if you had some money, I want to get some chocolate frogs and liquorice wands from the trolley, maybe some pumpkin pasties too."  
"What happened to the money mum gave you?"  
"Lost it in a bet with Lorcan. We were arguing about..."  
"I don't really care." Rose interrupted.  
"So are you going to give me the money or what?" Hugo asked eagerly.  
"Fine." Rose huffed, rummaging around in her bag for a few sickles. "That should last you." She said, handing him the coins.  
"Thanks!" Hugo said with a smile before quickly running off.  
"Come on." Alice said before Rose could become distracted again. "We better change into our robes before we forget and it's too late."  
Rose simply nodded in agreement.


	2. Return to Hogwarts

"Firs' years o'er here!" boomed the voice of the half-giant Hagrid, his lantern casting a yellow light over the station platform. Several of the first years were already hustled around him, staring up at him in awe of his height.  
"Remember when we were in their place?" Alice said to Rose.  
"Yeah, it was pouring down rain and everyone was freezing, but it was still one of the best nights." Rose replied  
"Yeah, I definitely agree with you."  
The girls bustled their way along the crowded platform, trying to avoid the various bags, cages as they made their way over to Hagrid.  
"Hi Hagrid." Both girls said, smiling up at the half-giant. Most of his face was covered by his long, thick curly beard and hair, the black colour long gone, replaced by a silvery-grey.  
"Well blimey." Hagrid exclaimed, looking down at the girls. "If isn't Miss Rose Weasley and Miss Alice Edgecombe! How're you both?"  
"Good thanks." Rose and Alice said, smiling.  
"You girls better get a move on." Hagrid said, "Wouldn't wan't you to miss the carriages because you were chattin' away to me."  
"Ok. See you later Hagrid." Rose said, waving as she and Alice headed towards the carriages.  
As the girls were waiting in the carriage, their cousins, James, Albus and Lily Potter joined them."Hi Albus! Hi James! Hi Lily!" Alice said cheerfully to them. "Have a nice holiday?"  
"Wasn't too bad." Albus replied. "Except James hid a few Dungbombs under my bed one night. It took me ages to work out what the smell was. Mum had a fit when she found out."  
"The smell was terrible!" Lily said. "I could smell it from my room all the way across the other side of the house!"  
James just smirked and said, "It was so worth the punishment to see him freak out over the smell."  
As the boys and Alice continued talking, Rose looked over to where a horse would normally be hooked up to the carriage, instead there was just empty space, as usual."What do you think pulls the carriage?" Rose said, interrupting the conversation.  
"Dad said they were things called Threstrals, big, black, skeletal horse-like things with wings. He said you have to have seen someone die to be able to see them. Frankly, I wouldn't be too upset if I never saw them." James said.  
Rose just murmured a reply, imagining what Threstral might look like.  
With a sudden jolt, the carriage began to move."WAIT!" A voice yelled. "WAIT FOR ME!"Instantly, the carriage came to a stop. Rose turned to see who the voice belonged to. A boy with blonde hair,so blonde it was almost white, came running towards the carriage, Scorpius climbed into the carriage, panting out of breath. "Why are you so late?" James asked, raising an eyebrow at Scorpius. Scorpius scowled at him, "Mind your own business." he said scoffed, but didn't ask any more again the carriage continued on towards the spots of light in the forgot about Scorpius and became lost in her thoughts, staring at the castle in the distance. "Hogwarts." she though. "Home."


	3. The Start of Term Feast

Rose made her way up the steps and into the Great Hall, taking her place at the Gryffindor table with James and Albus. Lily had sat further down the table with her friends in her year. Alice went over to the Hufflepuff table and Scorpius walked to the Slytherin table. As Rose sat down next to Albus, he whispered to her, "Scorpius was in my Potions class and he's not the kind of kid who'd be late to anything. My guess, he was up to something.""You think everyone's up to something. Last year you saw Professor Groutal on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and insisted something was going on." Rose said.  
"I was right though, wasn't I?" James asked.  
Rose did have to admit to that fact. Professor Groutal had been found selling stealing Dittany from the greenhouses and selling it for an extremely high price.  
Before Rose could come up with a reply, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Longbottom led in the first years. Drowning in their robes, they were all looking around the Great Hall, but most of them were looking up at the ceiling. Rather than just a boring, stone ceiling, the ceiling in the Great Hall was bewitched to show the sky, providing a spectacle of constellations and planets almost every night at dinner. The hall was also illuminated with thousands of floating candles which cast a comforting yellow light throughout the entire space. Rose remembered the first time she had seen the ceiling. She's read about it in Hogwarts: A History and her family had described it to her, but nothing could compare to seeing it in person for the first time, taking in the vastness of the hall and ceiling. The first years that weren't looking at the ceiling were glancing around nervously or trying to keep their gaze on the remembered the student in her year who had been walking next to her when she'd first entered the Great Hall when she had tripped on the hem of her robes. Rose had stopped and watched as the girl with the beautiful golden hair had sat on the ground, sniffling as she tried to hold back her tears. Rose had helped her up and now Alice Edgecombe was her closest friend, despite the different houses they'd been sorted into.  
Many of the first years stared in awe at Rose, James and Albus as they passed them. Being the children of the famous Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, almost everyone knew their faces. Rose just smiled at them, whilst Albus looked bashful and James pulled Longbottom led them up to the front of the staff table where a three-legged wooden stool was waiting with a crumpled, dusty black pointed hat. The first years looked around anxiously, waiting for something to happen. The Sorting Hat suddenly sprang to life, perking up and creases forming to show what were meant to be eyes and a mouth. The hat then burst into song, loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear.  
Oh I may look quite quite oldBut don't judge a book by its coverFor I am the Sorting HatAnd there's nothing I won't discover  
In your head I can seeEvery wish and every thoughtEvery worry every joyAnd every battle fought  
Do you belong in RavenclawThe brightest of the lotWho aim high in everythingA lot of brains they've got  
Or is Slytherin the house for youA house of great cunningWho are known for their ambitionWhose bright green is quite stunning  
Hufflepuff, the house of talent,Of those who don't fit inFor those who've got great gifts to shareWho can make others grin  
Or Gryffindor, the house of courageWhere bravery is bestIn this house, challengesWill really put you to the test  
Sorting students into housesThat is what I'm for,And trust me, no matter what house you're inLife at Hogwarts is no bore  
But let me continue for just a bitFor this part of information is shortJust sit patiently in your seatIt won't be long before I sort  
Even though I split youInto these houses fourIt is best to be unitedWhich isn't too hard a chore  
For staying strong through thick and thinIs really the best thingAnd happiness and luckTo you it will bring  
So now its time for SortingMy song is nearly doneNow find out what house you're inAnd I hope you have some fun.  
At the end of this song, the Great Hall burst into a ruckus of applause. Professor Longbottom then pulled out a scroll, unrolling it infront of him. He picked up The Sorting Hat and held it high in his hand."Holly Parker."Rose watched as a girl with a a blonde bob and a button nose walked up and sat on the stool. She looked around, obviously startled by the fact that a hat was talking to her. After no more than a minute, the hat bellowed, "Hufflepuff!"Cheers went up from the Hufflepuff table as the young girl ran over and joined the table, beaming at her sorting.  
"Amita Parvati."This time, a dark-skinned girl with waist-length dark brown hair walked up and sat on the stool where Professor Longbottom lowered the hat onto her anticipation in the hall was palpable. Every eye was trained on The Sorting Hat, waiting eagerly for a verdict.  
"The Hat's taking its bloody time." James whispered to Rose.  
The Hall waited a full five-and-a-half minutes, a Hatstall, before the Hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"Rose grinned and clapped loudly, happy to have a new face in Gryffindor.  
"Albert Trinkle."  
Rose heard a few sniggers at the boy's name and felt a twinge of pity for him. "I just hope he's not in Slytherin." Rose thought, "Otherwise he's in for a hard time." she watched as the freckle-faced boy sat on the stool.  
The hat spent several minutes deciding where to sort the lanky, brunette boy before yelling, "SLYTHERIN!"Rose groaned inwardly, secretly hoping the boy was made of tough stuff.  
As the rest of the first years were called up in turn, Rose dazed off, staying focussed just enough to clap when required. By the end of the sorting, Gryffindor had gained a total of seventeen first years.  
Before the students could start their conversations again, Headmistress Horton rose from her seat, causing everyone to look up to the bony, tall woman. She stood at the golden podium, the owl on the front on it opening its wings so that each feather could be Horton had her curly, chestnut brown hair in a messy bun as usual. There were so many hairs sticking out that it looked as if there was a fuzzy, brown halo surrounding her head. Her round spectacles were perched slightly askew on her small, pointed nose. Her deep blue robes looked unkempt and old and her pointed hat looked like the dusty, old Sorting Hat.  
"Welcome back students." Professor Horton began in her shrill voice, looking around at all the tables. "I trust you have all had a good holiday and are ready for another year of education. To our first years, welcome. I hope you find your stay at Hogwarts most wonderful. Before we begin our feast, I have a few start of term notices. Once again, I must remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to every student." She said, looking out at the students over her tiny spectacles. "Also, access to the area on the far side of the lake is forbidden for all students due to a pair of Hippogriffs nursing a hatchling. For anyone thinking it might be fun to take a look at the hatchling, need I remind you that Hippogriffs have very sharp talons and are very, very protective. Our beloved Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House, Professor Slughorn has decided to retire after a very long and stressful teaching career. I would like you all to welcome Professor Dippit, a descendant of famous Headmaster Armando Dippit, to our staff." Everyone in the hall politely clapped as the hunch-backed, black haired Dippit stood, nodding his head at the crowd. The Headmistress continued, "He will be both Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. I hope you all have a wonderful term. Now, let the feast begin!"  
The Headmistress clapped her hands twice and hundreds of dishes materialised on the four tables. All the first years "Oohed" and "Aaahed" at this, their eyes staring at the various mouthwatering plates of food before them. Pork chops, roast turkey, roast chicken, roasted vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and steamed vegetables were all set out. Plates, cutlery and goblets full of pumpkin juice all appeared for each student seated at the tables.  
Rose placed some roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables on her plate, eating her fill whilst talking to those around her, including Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor House ghost, who suddenly appeared through a roasted turkey half-way through the feast, startling many on the table.  
Once everyone had eaten their fill, the dinner plates faded into nothing, and a few moments later plates laden with sweets, cakes and lollies appeared. Rose absent-mindedly ate a few pumpkin pasties, but didn't really pay attention to the taste.  
Once they were dismissed from dinner, Rose headed straight to her dormitory, not even bothering to check who else was there. She was exhausted from the long day and wanted to get plenty of rest before the first day of term. The was no one else in her dormitory when she walked in. Rose noticed her barn owl, Athena, asleep in her cage and decided to take her up to the owlery tomorrow morning rather than disturb her. She quickly unpacked her belongings and, after changing, fell into bed and was asleep almost instantly.


	4. First Day

Rose was the first awake in her dormitory. She noticed she was sharing the dorm with four others. Ivy Harris had the bed to the left of Rose. She was a tall, skinny girl with light brown hair which she kept as a pixie cut and Rose had spoken to her a few times when she'd been in her class in fourth year. In the bed on her right was Chelsea Woods, an acquaintance with a blonde bob and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Jessica Ginter, a girl with shoulder-length straight hair similar in colour to Rose's slept in the bed on the other side of Jessica. Rose knew her quite well as she was a Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Natalie Banterbranch was in the bed across from Rose. Her dark skin and hair a stark contrast against the white sheets. Rose knew her to be a stuck-up girl she strongly disliked. Natalie probably didn't like Rose either. Rose sighed, the girls in her dorm all quite nice with the exception of Natalie, she just hope she wouldn't get on her nerves too much.  
It was still quite early, so Rose got ready as quietly as she could, then carried Athena to the owlery at the top of one of the castle's towers, after making sure her owl was comfortable in one of the alcoves, Rose returned to her dorm.  
Arriving in her dorm, she was greeted by three cheerful 'hello's' from Ivy, Jessica and Chelsea."Where's Natalie?" Rose asked"Don't know." Ivy said. "She was gone when we both woke up."After small talking for a bit, the four girls went to the Great Hall for breakfast.  
Rose sat at the table next to her friend Alice and Amelia Bones soon joined them. They were chatting away when a dark-skinned, first year came at sat next to her. Rose recognised her as Amita Patil, the first student to be sorted in to Gryffindor last night. Rose gave her a smile then turned back to her breakfast. The girl still sat there, looking up at Rose with her big, brown eyes. "Um." She began in a meek voice. "Professor Forsvar asked me to tell you that he would like to meet with you after your final lesson." Amita blabbered out in one breath.  
Rose looked at her, not sure what to think of the little Indian girl sitting in front of her. "Thanks for telling me. Here," Rose said, pulling a few knits from her pocket, "Take these." Rose placed the coins into Amita's hand. Amita smiled up at Rose, revealing a row of perfect, white teeth, before taking her plate and sitting with a group of first years.  
"Wonder what Professor Forsvar wants with you." said AmeliaRose shrugged, just as confused as Amelia. She pondered over what the Head of Gryffindor House would want to speak to her about. It was only the first day of term and Rose couldn't think of anything that she'd done wrong. With no use in worrying about it, Rose pushed the thoughts on Professor Forsvar to the back of her mind.  
After collecting and comparing her timetable, with Alice's and Amelia's, Rose said goodbye to Alice and walked to her first class with Amelia: Advanced Potions with the new Professor Dippet.


	5. A New Title

Taking her seat in the second row next to Amelia, Rose looked around at who else was in her class. She noticed several people who had been in her classes last year, including, Leah Fisher, Robyn Parkinson, Thomas McLaggen and Jason Lawrence. To her dismay, she also saw Natalie sitting in the front row, chatting to her friend. Just before the morning bell rang, the door opened and Scorpius Malfoy walked in. Rose was quite surprised at this, as she had known Scorpius was smart, but never knew he was smart enough to be accepted into Advanced Potions. Rose found herself admiring his ashen grey eyes. She realised that his eyes were actually looking at her and she quickly looked down at the blank parchment in front of her, going red from embarrassment. Rose wondered why she'd even looked at him. She'd never noticed him before, yet now she couldn't help but wonder more about him. "Stop being stupid." Rose told herself. "You have too much work to do this year."  
Scorpius sat in the seat infront of Rose. A few moments later, Professor Dippet walked in. He wore navy robes, the hem trailing behind him. His stern eyes scrutinising everyone in the class. They lingered for a few moments over Scorpius before moving on."Welcome everyone to Advanced Potions." The Professor said, his voice echoing throughout the room. "You're all here because you are intelligent enough and I hope you can all prove it. Anyone who gets below average will endanger their position in this class. I expect you all to listen closely and study hard..."  
Rose found herself staring at the back of Scorpius' head, thinking about how he'd been looking at her with those handsome, grey eyes. Did he like her?  
"Miss Weasley!" The voice echoed, tearing her from her thoughts.  
"It would be greatly appreciated if he could pay attention during class!" Professor Dippet spat, his face turning a slight shade of red.  
"Sorry." Rose said meekly.  
"Not a very good first impression Miss Weasley. Try not to daze off again." Dippet said, looking down at Rose. She heard several people snicker.  
"I promise it won't happen again sir."  
"It better not. Now, continuing from where we left off. Miss Weasley, could you please tell us what colour is a Chelidonium Miniscula potion?"  
"A dark yellow" Rose answered confidently.  
"And what gives it this colour?"  
"The yellow flowers it is made from." She said, looking the Potions Master in the eye.  
He stared back for a few moments before looking away. As he walked past her, she noticed Scorpius looking at her, a look of empathy in his eyes. She looked away from him, knowing she would quickly become distracted thinking about his grey eyes.  
"You will be writing an essay about this potion then making it in a few weeks time and studying its effects..." Dippet continued.  
Rose made sure she paid attention for the rest of the lesson, answering everything she could. She didn't want to give Dippet another chance to embarrass her.  
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Scorpius was only in one of her other classes, Herbology with Professor Longbottom. Alice was in the majority of her classes, which she was grateful for.  
When the final bell at the end of the last class rang, Rose made her way to Professor Forsvar's office on the third floor.  
After knocking she entered the Professor's office. Professor Forsvar had decorated her cos office with various Gryffindor items. Her desk was situated in the middle, with a high-backed, scarlet cushioned chair behind it lined with a golden trimming. The right wall was covered by a tapestry embroidered with the Gryffindor logo. A large trophy cabinet took up the left side of the room. The shelves inside it were filled with the various trophies, medals and certificates awarded to past Gryffindor students. Several of the accolades were originally awarded to Rose's parents, her uncle and Professor Longbottom. They were some of the most famous wizards and the Head of Gryffindor House made sure no one ever forgot that the wizards who had defeated Lord Voldemort were once Gryffindor students. When Rose had first started at Hogwarts, she had expected Neville Longbottom to be Head of Gryffindor House, but had learnt that the Herbology professor was happy with just a teaching role.  
The Professor was sitting at her desk in her high-backed, scarlet chair, hunched over a roll of parchment. Her blonde-brown hair plaited over her shoulder. Taylor Forsvard had only been at Hogwarts for a few years and was still quite young, only in her mid twenties, yet she had a presence in any room that marked her as a leader.  
"Please Miss Weasley, take a seat." Forsvard said, indicating the wooden seat opposite her.  
"Due to an unfortunate run-in with a dragon, Miss Julia Clearwater has been unable to continue attending Hogwarts and has had to forfeit as captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team." Forsvar's sea green eyes were twinkling, despite the bad new she'd just told Rose. "I was wondering if perhaps you might like to take her place as captain of the Quidditch team?"  
Rose was shocked at this news. "Of course!" She managed to get out. "I'd love to!"  
"Fantastic!" Forsvar said. "I will inform the Headmistress and players. I will deliver the training schedule Julia sent by.."  
"Excuse me Professor." Rose interrupted. "Why would you choose me. I'm only an average Chaser. Surely James Potter would be the better choice."  
"My dear Rose. Do you not think I have considered the other current team members? James is a great Quidditch player, but he doesn't have the leadership skills. Also, you've scored over three hundred goals, I'd hardly call that average."  
"But..."  
"Stop doubting yourself. You'll be a fantastic captain. Now shoo! I'm a very busy woman."  
Rose quickly got up, thanked the Professor and left, closing the door behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she hadn't been in trouble.  
Rose was so ecstatic about her new title, she practically skipped back to the Gryffindor common room.


	6. An Unexpected Accident

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Already sixth years were being bombarded with homework with teachers supposedly trying to prepare them for the N.E.W.T exams. She had begun her essay on the Chelidonium Miniscula potion and had almost memorised the recipe in preparation for her exam. She'd also become closer friends with Ivy, Chelsea and Jessica, but Natalie was still as cold as ever towards her. Even with all the distractions in her life, Rose had managed to stay focussed on her work, keeping up with everything despite the incident earlier that week.  
She had had been walking along a deserted corridor, studying the list of students who had signed up for Quidditch tryouts whilst carrying a pile of books when someone bumped into her, knocking her over. "I'm so sorry." A voice had said.  
"It's all right." Rose said, rubbing the back if her head where she'd bumped it, squeezing her eyes closed to try and make the specks of light go away. She looked up at the person, realising that it was none other than Scorpius Malfoy.  
He knelt down, gathering her scattered books. He handed them to her, for a moment their hands touched. Rose blushed from embarrassment.  
"I should get going." Rose said, standing up. "Stuff to do, you know."  
"Yeah, me to." Scorpius said, but neither of them moved. They stood staring at each other for a few moments.  
"Do you want to hang out sometime?" Scorpius asked, running his hand through his white-blonde hair.  
"Um yeah, sure. Next Hogsmeade trip?"  
"Sounds good." Scorpius replied.  
They'd both smiled at each other, making the moment even more awkward before Scorpius said "See you then." and had walked off.  
Rose had scolded herself all the way back to the common room. "A boyfriend would be too hard this time of year. You have your schoolwork to do and there's also the Quidditch tryouts. And your parents! What are they going to think if you get a boyfriend? Especially dad. He'll go berserk if he finds out I had a boyfriend from Slytherin." These thoughts went around and around in her head. Yet there was a part of herself that was incredibly happy at this turn of events. Until that moment, she hadn't realised how much she actually liked Scorpius, now they were going on a date, at least, what she assumed was a date. The next Hogsmeade trip was next weekend, and Rose found herself counting down the days.  
After telling her friends about this, they wouldn't stop teasing her about it.  
"Oooh. Rose has got a boyfriend." Amelia had teased  
"Oh shut up!" Rose had replied, "It's just a date. We can't be boyfriend and girlfriend when we hardly know each other. This is just to see what we think about each other."  
"Yeah right." scoffed Alice. "We all know you've got the hots for each other. Won't be long before you both get a detention for snogging in the broom cupboard!"  
All her friends burst out laughing, clutching their sides they were laughing so hard. Rose just rolled her eyes at her friends immaturity.


	7. Saturday

The week crawled by as slowly as the week before Christmas for a six year old. The fact that Rose was counting down the days didn't seem to help the time go by any faster. She tried to distract herself with homework, reading and sorting out the Quidditch timetable in preparation for the trials the following week, spending hours at a time working on things, but nothing seemed to distract her enough.  
At last, Saturday morning arrived. Rose lay in her bed, smiling that the day of the Hogsmeade trip had finally arrived, after days of anticipation and excitement. Rose settled on wearing her denim jeans with a black and white polka-dot jumper over a red long-sleeved shirt. Taking her scarf along as well, Rose hoped she would be warm enough, Rose picked up her brown leather shoulder bag and headed to the Entrance Hall.  
She looked around, and realising Scorpius wasn't there yet, walked over to her friends."Looking forward to your date with lover boy?" Chelsea asked mockingly.  
"Oh shut up!" Rose said playfully giving her a friendly punch in the shoulder.  
"Ooh. Is that him now?" Amelia asked.  
Rose turned to see Scorpius walking down the Grand Staircase, wearing black jeans and a woollen, grey overcoat. Rose walked over to him, ignoring the various mocking oooh's from her friends.  
"Hey Rose. You look nice." Scorpius said when he spotted her. "I was thinking we could go to the Three Broomsticks for a bit, then just look around, maybe even head over to the Shrieking Shack. It snowed yesterday so hopefully they'll be enough snow to have a snowball fight or something."  
"Sounds great!" She said, smiling at him.  
"Alright let's go!" the supervising staff member announced. With that, the students set off for Hogsmeade.


	8. A Date With Scorpius

Rose and Scorpius sat next to each other in a booth in the corner of The Three Broomsticks, two warm butterbeers on the table. They chatted about nothing in particular, switching topics from Potions and the Chelidonium Miniscula essay, to Rose's new role as Quidditch captain, to their parents.  
At one point, Rose spilt some of her butterbeer on the front of her jumper, causing Scorpius to burst out laughing."Stop it." Rose said, but she wasn't very serious, finding her clumsiness quite funny herself.  
"Here," Scorpius said, pulling out his wand. He waved it a bit and the butterbeer stain faded to nothing. "Grandma is always spilling drinks on her self, now that she's quite old. I learnt the spell so that I could clean it up for her."  
"That's sweet." Rose replied, "And even better that you know it so well you can cast it non-verbally."  
Rose and Scorpius decided to leave the warmth of The Three Broomsticks to visit the other shops in Hogsmeade. Walking along the main street, Rose noticed the dark storm-clouds in the distance and wondered if it was cold enough for a thoughts of a blizzard quickly vanished from Rose's mind as she walked into Honeydukes. The sight of rows upon rows of lollies was like every child's dream. Massive piles of chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, lemon sherbets, liquorice wands and more were enough to make anyone's eyes pop.  
Scorpius and Rose spent several minutes, deciding on the best way to spend their money. They also saw Ivy and Alice in the store, who made moony faces at Rose whilst Scorpius wasn't looking.  
Walking out of Honeydukes with two full lolly bags in their hands, they made their way to the snow-covered area just beyond the boundaries of the Shrieking Shack. There, they sat against the trunk of a tree, eating their lollies and talking. Rose couldn't help but think how perfect this moment was. Scorpius was such a nice guy, and he was handsome.  
Suddenly, Scorpius jumped up, and without warning, flung a snowball at Rose, hitting her in the stomach.  
"This means war!" Rose yelled, jumping up and quickly retaliating. They flung snowball after snowball at each other, most of them missing. For what seemed like ages, they were engaged in a furious snowball fight, until at last they fell on their backs next to each other, into the snow, laughing.  
They lay there, laughing away for several minutes before falling silent.  
"Look, snow!" Rose exclaimed pointing to the sky.  
They both watched as a snowflake drifted down, landing on Scorpius' head, where it melted into a drop of water.  
He stood up, offering his hand to help Rose up.  
She took it, and went to stand up, but Scorpius pulled her up a bit to fast and she stumbled into him, causing them both to fall over. They both laughed, then Rose realised she had fallen on top of Scorpius. She quickly jumped up, blushing from embarrassment. "Sorry." She said  
"Nah. Wasn't your fault." Scorpius replied, standing up. "Want to head back to town? It's almost time for us to head back to school."  
"Sure."  
Despite the awkward moment, Scorpius slipped his hand into Rose's. Rose held his hand back, enjoying the warmth and feel of his tough skin. They walked together, holding hands all the way back to Hogwarts.  
"I had a really fun time." Rose said as they reached the entrance hall.  
"Me too. We should definitely do this again sometime." Scorpius replied. "I guess I'll see you in class."  
"Ok." Rose said, letting go of Scorpius' hand, moving towards the stairs.  
She smiled all the way back to the common room, replaying over and over in her head the date.  
Ivy, Jess and Chelsea swarmed on her the second she reached the dorm, bombarding her with questions about her and Scorpius. She answered the questions vaguely before telling the girls she was tired and wouldn't answer any more questions. The girls moaned, but stopped interrogating her.

A/N: Thanks to all the loyal readers! Please comment what you think so far, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!


	9. Detention

"How was yesterday?" Alice greeted Rose at breakfast.  
"Well good morning to you to." Rose said, looking at her best friend as she sat down beside her.  
"Oh come on. You can't expect me to say 'good morning' when there are much more important matters at hand, such as your date with Scorpius. So, how was it?"  
"Good. We sat at The Three Broomsticks, went to Honeydukes and had a snowball fight."  
"So are you officially boyfriend and girlfriend now?"  
"I guess so. He didn't exactly say that we were, but we held hands on the way back."  
"Nice. We've got and Defense Against the Dark Arts together second class, so you can tell me more then."  
She walked away before Rose could say another word.  
She had Charms first with Ivy and Chelsea, and also Scorpius. She walked in with Ivy, taking a seat on the desk with Chelsea who waved them over. A moment later, Scorpius walked in. He winked and smiled at Rose, making her blush and hide behind her books. Despite being his girlfriend, she hadn't really gotten used to it. Could she ever get used to it?  
The lesson went by quickly. Rose tried her best to ignore Scorpius and stay focussed on the lesson, but she couldn't help but glance over a few times, watching him attempt to cast the spell they were practicing. She noticed how his brow furrowed and the tip of his tongue poked out from the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on casting the spell. At one point he looked over to her, and noticing her gaze, smile at her. Knowing he'd already seen her staring, she smiled back at him before looking away.  
In the hallway after Charms, Rose heard someone calling her name. Turning, she saw Scorpius pushing through the crowd of students. Reaching her, he said, "Can you meet me at the beech tree by the lake after school.""I can't. I have Quidditch trials." She replied.  
"Ok then. Tomorrow?"  
"Sure sounds good."  
"See you then." he said, then walked off in the opposite direction.  
In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Alice whispered questions to Rose for the full lesson. Not even Professor Forsvar's glares, which were a frightening sight, could make her stop. Rose refused to answer many of the questions, telling her friend to be quiet. Even though Rose adored Alice as her closest friend, there were some things she just didn't want to talk about whilst trying to concentrate on the effects of the Imperius Forsvar finally had enough of Alice's chatter and stormed over. "Miss Edgecomb!" She practically yelled. "10 points from Hufflepuff and see me today after school. I have made it very clear I do not want you chatting in my lessons yet you have continued to do so."  
Alice dropped her head, staring at the wooden desk rather than dare to look the Professor in the eye. Professor Forsvar was generally lenient when it came to minor rule breakers, but if someone pushed her too far, like Alice had done, you didn't want to be around.  
After berating Alice, the Professor instantly returned to the lesson, her anger disappearing immediately. Alice was quiet for the rest of the lesson, staring down at her textbook to avoid meeting the Professor's eyes.


	10. Quidditch Trials

Rose's last lesson was a free period, so she had scheduled Quidditch tryouts to start now and finish just before sunset. Students who wished to tryout were permitted to miss their last class so that everyone would have a chance to tryout.  
Quickly running back to the common room, she changed into her flying clothes and collected her Firebolt on the way to the field. The broom had been a gift from her uncle Harry and aunt when they found out she had been successful in her tryout for the Quidditch team in second year. She beamed at the memory of opening it.  
The sky was clouded over, dark clouds threatening to rain at any moment. Rose desperately hoped it wouldn't rain too hard. A large crowd of students waited on the field, all huddled in their friend groups. Rose called over the hopeful Gryffindor Quidditch players. She recognized the people who had been in the team last year, including Jessica and James Potter. Despite their father's great skill at Quidditch, only James Potter had wanted to play on the team. Albus said he liked Quidditch, but didn't want to play and Lily was too focused on her studies. Many of the players last year had been in their seventh year, so only about four were left. For the team, she needed to fill the open spots and have a reserve for each position, possibly even two reserves for some positions."Alright everyone!" She said, slightly raising her voice so that everyone could hear her. "Welcome to the try outs. Glad to see so many people wanting to be in the team. We'll have two tryout sessions, today and Wednesday, then I'll post a notice of the team in the common room. Remember that even if you have played in the team previously, a spot for you is not guaranteed. We'll start with some warm ups, then we'll play a few games, rotating the people in each position so that I can see you all in action. Ok! Let's get started!"  
Retrieving the brooms from the shed, she started off with basic flying maneuvers, then had the pass the Quaffle around. After splitting them all into their desired positions, she released the two Snitches and had the Seekers find them, the Beaters whack a Bludger around and the Chasers and Keepers doing some flying drills.  
After almost an hour of various drills and exercises, she organized everyone into three teams that would each play a twenty minute game. Halfway through the first game, the rain suddenly started, pouring down on the fliers. The cold weather combined with the rain was miserable, but Rose had experienced it many times in her years on the team. Those who were waiting to play their game started to complain loudly, but Rose just told them to put up with it. "If you want to be on this team you're going to have to deal with a lot of rainy training sessions!" She said. Everyone stopped complaining, but some of them still looked miserable and cold.  
Throughout these games, Rose noticed several people who showed potential, including many younger students. Of course, the four previous players were as skilled as always, so they would most likely be on the team. There were many people who obviously had no flying talent, but Rose didn't want to disregard them just yet, as there was still one more tryout session.  
At the end of the games, everyone was exhausted. Rose had really put them through their paces. "Ok everyone." She said to the group. "You've all done very well today. Quidditch is a big commitment so if you don't think it's for you, that's fine. But I hope to see you all the same time on Wednesday. Thanks!" the group slowly dispersed, some staying behind to help Rose put away the brooms.  
As she was walking back to the common room, Jessica came up to her. "You're going to be a great captain." she said.  
"You think so?" Rose replied.  
"Definitely! You handled those tryouts so well. Everything was well set out and you made sure everyone got a turn. You're so much better than what Julia would've been like."  
"You're just saying that because you're my friend." Rose said, not convinced at all by Jess' comments.  
"No it's true!" Jess said, "Julia was a bit scatterbrained. She would've been a good captain, just not as great as you."  
"Thanks Jess. That's really nice. But don't think flattery will get you a place on the team."  
"Damn it. I thought I had you convinced to put me on the team." She said jokingly.  
Both girls laughed.  
Rose thought about what Jess had said, hoping that she could live up to everyone's expectations.

**A/N: Thank you so so much to my 220 (and counting) visitors. It's so good that so many people are reading my fanfic! Please comment what you think of it and if you have any suggestions. I have a chapter coming up with a bit more of a storyline so stay tuned! Thanks!**


	11. Unexpected Surprise

That afternoon, Rose headed straight to the beech tree, excited about seeing Scorpius. She'd had a really busy day, having to concentrate hard in her classes so that she wouldn't miss any important information, so she hadn't thought much about Scorpius.  
Walking out of the castle, she noticed how beautiful the scenery was. The rolling green grass spread out before her. The sun had melted the slight sheen of ice on the lake and it looked like it was made of diamonds, the sun glinting off of the water. Further out in the lake, Rose thought she could see the giant squid flailing its tentacles about playfully, splashing water everywhere. The weather was unusually warm for the middle of Winter, feeling a bit more like early Spring. She looked over to the beech tree, where she could see the outline of a figure.  
She walked to the tree, taking care not to stumble on the rocks sticking out of the ground. Getting closer, she could see a picnic set out with Scorpius standing beside it.A red checkered picnic blanket was set out with two plates, each with some pastries and small slices of cake. There were also two goblets filled with warm butterbeer.  
"Wow! What's all this for?" Rose asked Scorpius, standing next to the picnic.  
"I thought it might be a nice afternoon. It's great weather and this is such a nice spot. Do you like it?"  
"I love it!" Rose exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.  
They both sat down on the blanket, facing the lake and started eating their food."So," Scorpius started, looking at Rose. "I never officially asked you, and I was wondering, would you like to be my girlfriend?"  
Rose was shocked by Scorpius' question. Not that she didn't want to date Scorpius, but she'd just assumed they were already going out. She'd never expect someone to officially ask her.  
"Definitely!" Rose said, recovering from her shock.  
"Great!" Scorpius replied, obviously relieved.  
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Rose yawned loudly, tired from her busy day."Are you tired?" Scorpius asked her.  
"Yeah. It's been a busy day." Rose replied.  
Scorpius shuffled closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You can rest your head on me if you want."  
Rose hesitated for a moment before resting her head on Scorpius' shoulder. She noticed how he smelled of pine mixed with something sweet. She thought how perfect this moment was: a beautiful afternoon with Scorpius.  
They were sitting quietly when Rose thought she heard a terrified scream. Lifting her head from Scorpius' shoulder, she looked around, trying to find where the noise was coming from. "What's wrong?" Scorpius asked, obviously having not heard the scream. Rose was about to answer him when she heard the scream again, and this time Scorpius heard it as well.  
Standing up, she looked around and heard the scream a third time. "Come on, quick!" She said to Scorpius, pulling out her wand. "I think it's coming from the Forbidden Forest. Scorpius stood up as well, taking out his wand.  
Rose ran to the edge of the forest with Scorpius just behind her. Reaching the first row of trees, she saw a sight that made her jaw drop.


	12. Hugo

Rose woke that morning to the sun beaming through her window. She got up, noticing that Natalie wasn't in her bed. The three other girls were awake and greeted her with cheery good mornings.  
"No sign of Natalie?" She asked the girls  
"Nope." Ivy answered. "Haven't seen her since she stormed out last night."  
Rose got ready whilst she talked to the girls then headed down to breakfast.  
As she was eating her toast, Scorpius came and sat down next to her, getting several glares from Gryffindors nearby.  
"Good morning!" he said, smiling at Rose. "You haven't forgotten about this afternoon have you?"  
"How could I?" Rose said, smiling back at him. "Are you going to tell me what you have planned?"  
He smiled knowingly at her. "That's for me to know and you to find out. See you after school." he got up and walked off, turning to wave at Rose.  
After breakfast, Rose checked her timetable, disappointed to see she didn't have any classes with Scorpius that day. As she was walking down the hall, her brother ran up to her.  
"ROSE!" he yelled at her.  
"No need to scream at me!" she said back to him, ruffling his hair with her hand.  
"I know." Hugo smiled up at Rose. "And stop doing that to my hair!" he said, pushing her hand away. Rose just laughed. "Anyway." Hugo continued. "A little owl told me you have a boyfriend." He said mockingly.  
"So what if I do?" Rose scowled at him. "It's none of your business who I want to spend my time with!"  
"So you do!" he said triumphantly, as if he'd just discovered a fantastic secret. "So who is it? It's not that stupid Thompson boy is it? It better not be a Slytherin. Dad would have a fit."  
Rose ignored him and continued walking. Hugo kept following her, pestering Rose with questions about her boyfriend. "Look." She said turning to him. "I'm not going to tell you, so stop trying to guess. You better keep quiet about this around Mum and Dad or you'll regret it."  
"Fine!" he said, crossing his arms. "But you owe me. And I will find out who it is." With that, Hugo ran off down the hallway.  
Rose knew her brother would find out about Scorpius, and she'd have to tell her parents at some point as well, but for now it was just between her and her closest friends.  
She walked to her first class (Transfiguration) thinking about Scorpius and what he could have planned for that afternoon.


	13. Screams

That afternoon, Rose headed straight to the beech tree, excited about seeing Scorpius. She'd had a really busy day, having to concentrate hard in her classes so that she wouldn't miss any important information, so she hadn't thought much about Scorpius.  
Walking out of the castle, she noticed how beautiful the scenery was. The rolling green grass spread out before her. The sun had melted the slight sheen of ice on the lake and it looked like it was made of diamonds, the sun glinting off of the water. Further out in the lake, Rose thought she could see the giant squid flailing its tentacles about playfully, splashing water everywhere. The weather was unusually warm for the middle of Winter, feeling a bit more like early Spring. She looked over to the beech tree, where she could see the outline of a figure.  
She walked to the tree, taking care not to stumble on the rocks sticking out of the ground. Getting closer, she could see a picnic set out with Scorpius standing beside it.A red checkered picnic blanket was set out with two plates, each with some pastries and small slices of cake. There were also two goblets filled with warm butterbeer.  
"Wow! What's all this for?" Rose asked Scorpius, standing next to the picnic.  
"I thought it might be a nice afternoon. It's great weather and this is such a nice spot. Do you like it?"  
"I love it!" Rose exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.  
They both sat down on the blanket, facing the lake and started eating their food."So," Scorpius started, looking at Rose. "I never officially asked you, and I was wondering, would you like to be my girlfriend?"  
Rose was shocked by Scorpius' question. Not that she didn't want to date Scorpius, but she'd just assumed they were already going out. She'd never expect someone to officially ask her.  
"Definitely!" Rose said, recovering from her shock.  
"Great!" Scorpius replied, obviously relieved.  
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Rose yawned loudly, tired from her busy day."Are you tired?" Scorpius asked her.  
"Yeah. It's been a busy day." Rose replied.  
Scorpius shuffled closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You can rest your head on me if you want."  
Rose hesitated for a moment before resting her head on Scorpius' shoulder. She noticed how he smelled of pine mixed with something sweet. She thought how perfect this moment was: a beautiful afternoon with Scorpius.  
They were sitting quietly when Rose thought she heard a terrified scream. Lifting her head from Scorpius' shoulder, she looked around, trying to find where the noise was coming from. "What's wrong?" Scorpius asked, obviously having not heard the scream. Rose was about to answer him when she heard the scream again, and this time Scorpius heard it as well.  
Standing up, she looked around and heard the scream a third time. "Come on, quick!" She said to Scorpius, pulling out her wand. "I think it's coming from the Forbidden Forest. Scorpius stood up as well, taking out his wand.  
Rose ran to the edge of the forest with Scorpius just behind her. Reaching the first row of trees, she saw a sight that made her jaw drop.

**A/N: Hi readers! Just wanted to let you know that I updated the 'Quidditch Trials' chapter. Iadded James Potter in. So don't get confused when I mention that later. Please comment/favourite/follow. Thanks!**


	14. The Phoenix

A few metres from Rose was a young boy, probably only in their second or third year. They were lying on the ground, a horrible, dark shape hovering over him. Taking a step closer, Rose started to feel drained of happiness and energy. Only a moment ago she'd felt blissfully happy sitting next to Scorpius, now she felt as if there was nothing she enjoyed. The air felt cold and Rose's teeth started to chatter. Rose noticed the creature had its face directly over the boy's. She could hear it's rattling breath, as if it was breathing in something more than just air. Recognising the dark creature as a Dementor, Rose's mind instantly thought about what she'd learnt about them and how to defend herself. Thinking of the happiest memory she could, she raised her wand, pointing it towards the Dementor, and shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" From her wand burst a phoenix of silvery-white light. It flew towards the Dementor, soaring towards it on outstretched wings, leaving a trail of the white light behind it that slowly faded. The phoenix had a halo of light around, illuminating the surrounding trees. The Dementor raised it's hooded head to face the phoenix and started to move away from the boy. As the phoenix got closer to it, the Dementor looked as if it was being pushed back by a strong gust of wind. The phoenix soared after it, chasing until it disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Rose instantly noticed how the air felt warmer and she could more easily recall her happy memories. She watched as the phoenix returned, circling over Rose's head as it slowly faded until it was gone.  
Rose felt suddenly tired and stumbled backwards into someone's arms. She looked up to see Scorpius' ashen grey eyes, his expression one of concern. She'd become so absorbed in casting the Patronus that she had completely forgotten that Scorpius had been right behind her. "Are you alright?" He asked her, obviously worried."Yeah." She replied. "Just exhausted. Go check on the boy."Scorpius ran over to the boy and knelt over him. "He's unconscious. Let's get him up to the castle." Scorpius said, picking up the boy carefully. Rose stood up cautiously, taking care not to move too fast in case she fainted. With Scorpius carrying the boy beside her, they walked to the castle. "That was absolutely incredible!" Scorpius exclaimed. "I've never seen anything like it..." Scorpius continued, but Rose didn't really listen to his words, she was too focussed on trying to walk up the hill, putting one foot in front of the other. When they reached the Entrance Hall, Scorpius carefully put the boy down on the floor and Rose's knees buckled as she dropped to the ground, too exhausted to stand or walk for any longer. "Wait here." Scorpius said. "I'll go find someone to help. She just nodded as he ran off, too tired to say anything.  
Scorpius ran up the Grand Staircase. Rose wasn't sure if he was gone for only a few moments or an hour, but he returned with Professor Dippet.  
"Merlin's beard!" the Professor exclaimed. "Let's get both of you to Madam Hartley." Scorpius helped Rose stand up whilst Professor Dippet picked up the boy. It scared Rose to see the boy hanging so limp as the Professor carried him, but she was slightly comforted when she saw the rise and fall of his chest. Rose thought it was very strange seeing the Professor carrying the boy. He made himself seem so tough and cruel on the outside, but hearing the concern in his voice and seeing him carefully carrying this boy changed Rose's opinion of him. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she'd first thought.  
On the way to the hospital wing, Rose stumbled several times. Scorpius insisted that he carry her, but she refused, not wanting to seem like she couldn't walk a short distance. After stumbling for the fourth time and rolling her ankle, Scorpius picked her up, carrying her the rest of the way. Rose couldn't be bothered to protest so she simply hooked her arms around his neck. Even though Rose didn't like feeling so weak, she didn't think she would've been able to walk the rest of the distance.  
The group entered the hospital wing, Madam Hartley rushing over to them. "What in the name of Dumbledore has happened!?" she exclaimed. Scorpius explained quickly what had occurred in the forest. He carried her over to one of the beds, laying her down carefully. She tried to sit up, but a sudden dizziness overcame her, then everything went black.


	15. An Explanation

Rose woke up in in near darkness. Light from the full moon was streaming through the window above her and torches were lit on the walls of the hospital wing, casting an eerie orange glow on the surroundings. Madam Hartley was also walking around, using the light from her wand to check on the few occupants in the wing. On the wooden table beside her, Rose could make out a small pile of sweets, including her favourite- chocolate wands. Rose lay in her bed, trying to piece together her memories. She could remember casting a Patronus at a Dementor, but not much after that except for a few snippets: like Professor Dippet carrying the boy. She also remembered sitting on the bed she was in now, but nothing after that, she must have fainted. She watched Madam Hartley walking around, noticing how careful she was to keep the light from her wand away from people's faces. As she came nearer to Rose, she noticed she was awake and rushed over.  
"Oh good." she whispered. "You're finally awake."  
"Wasn't I only out for the afternoon?" Rose asked, very confused.  
"My goodness dear! You were out for a whole day and a half!"  
That long! Rose thought to herself. What about the Quidditch trials! And all the work she missed out on!  
"That must've been some Patronus to be so exhausted." Madam Hartley continued.  
Madam Hartley could see how confused Rose was, so she sat on the chair beside Rose and began explaining, "Occasionally, when someone casts a Patronus for the first time, they can be incredibly exhausted afterwards, especially someone at your age. It was a wonder you were even able to make it back to the castle. The fact that it was a phoenix Patronus is even more astonishing."  
"What's so astonishing about a phoenix Patronus?" Rose asked, puzzled.  
"It's a very rare Patronus, Dumbledore had the same. It's usually a sign that someone has a very special talent with magic or is very powerful."  
Rose just lay there, taking in the information. She wasn't that powerful or talented with magic.  
"What about the boy that the Dementor attacked. Is he ok?"  
"Oh yes yes. He was fine." Madam Hartley reassured Rose. "You scared off the Dementor before it could permanently harm him. All he needed was bit of chocolate and he was on his way."  
"You must have very good friends." Madam Hartley continued. "Miss Ginter and Miss Edgecombe came in earlier today. They left some notes about school today in the draw in that bedside table. One of them said something about one of them having a list of people for the Quidditch team."Rose smiled, glad that her friends had taken the time to make sure she wouldn't miss out on her any work.  
"Oh and that Malfoy boy has been in at every spare moment. It was hard to get him to leave." Madam Hartley said, standing up. "Just call if you need anything, dear." She whispered as she walked away.  
Rose smiled, imagining Scorpius sitting on the chair. Rose found everything that Madam Hartley had said about her Patronus rather hard to believe. Sure she was smart and was good at magic: but she wasn't as good as Madam Hartley had made her sound.  
Not feeling very tired, Rose pulled the notes out of the drawer and started reading through them. One of them had a list of people on it and a scrawled note from Jess.  
Hey Rose!  
I ran the Quidditch trials for you so that we can get a team together in time for the the is a list of people who showed potential. Their positions are beside them and I also made a few notes about their strengths and attitude.  
Alice also gathered some info about your lessons today.  
Hope to see you tomorrow.  
Xoxo Jess

Rose read through the notes, but despite her long sleep, Rose's eyelids started drooping and she had to put them down. Snuggling up under the blankets, she fell into a dreamless sleep.

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone reading. Because I haven't sted in a while I'm publishing both Chapter 14 and 15 today. Happy Reading!**


	16. Potions

The next morning, Rose was given the all-clear by Madam Hartley and was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing.  
She walked the quiet corridors to the Gryffindor tower, smiling at the few people she passed- although she noticed very few Gryffindors. Walking into the common room, Rose understood why she had seen so few Gryffindors in the halls. The common room was full to the brim with Gryffindor students, who all began cheering when Rose entered. Rose stood there, shocked at the welcome. Chelsea, Jessica, Ivy and the boy from the forest broke away from the crowd to make their way over to Rose.  
"What's all this for?" Rose asked, still stunned.  
"What do you think it's for?" Chelsea said, "You pretty much saved David Creevy's life! I think that calls for a bit of a cheer!"  
Rose's cheeks turned bright red. "You're all too kind."  
The boy who Chelsea had called David smiled up at Rose. He was small and scrawny, his messy hair a dark brown. Looking down at the ground shyly, he looked up at Rose, his chestnut brown eyes twinkling, "Thank you so, so much Miss Weasley." The boy said meekly. "I'm very grateful for what you did to save me."  
Rose's cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red. Crouching down so she was eye-level with David and not looking down on him like a teacher Rose thanked him. David beamed and puffed out his chest, obviously proud that he'd worked up the courage to thank her.  
Rose stood up, addressing the crowd she said, "As much as I'd love to stay and party I have things I need to do." The crowd cheered for Rose once more as she made her way through the sea of people to the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories. Almost everyone patted her on the back and thanked her or commented on her phoenix Patronus, which was a fact that had somehow gotten out, even though she hadn't told anyone. One thing Rose had learnt at Hogwarts was that news travelled very quickly. There were eyes and ears watching and listening all over the castle.  
As Rose entered her dormitory, she was surprised to see Natalie lying on her bed reading a book. Rose had almost forgotten about Natalie as she'd been gone almost a week. Natalie didn't even look up at Rose when she walked in, but Rose wasn't going to let Natalie's negative attitude annoy her.  
Trying to be nice, Rose said, "Hey Natalie! It's good to see you back! How are you feeling?"Natalie sat up, putting her book to the side, "Don't act so happy to see me back. It's obvious you don't like me so stop trying to be so nice. I bet you think you're so cool and powerful with that special Patronus! But don't think I'm going to bow down before you because of it. Let's just stick to ignoring each other." Natalie lay back down and resumed reading her book.  
Rose rolled her eyes. Natalie didn't want to be her friend anytime soon. Even though Rose was still curious about Natalie and her 'visions', it was obvious she wasn't going to get any answers- not from Natalie anyway.  
Quickly grabbing her schoolbooks for the day, Rose left the Gryffindor tower, the crowd in the common room still quite tightly-packed.  
The hallways were now buzzing with activity and It seemed the whole school had heard about Rose's Patronus. Almost everyone stopped her to congratulate her or welcome her back- even though she'd only been gone a day.  
Because of this, Rose arrived late to class. Professor Dippet didn't say anything about her tardiness, just told her to take a seat and continued on with his lesson.  
Looking around, Rose saw almost every seat was taken. Amelia was turned to look at Rose, an apologetic look on her face. Usually they saved a seat for each other but obviously this time Amelia hadn't been able to. Looking around the room, Rose took the only available seat- next to Scorpius.  
Scorpius smiled at Rose when she sat down, whispering in her ear "How are you feeling?"Not wanting to be caught talking, Rose discreetly wrote on the corner of her parchment, "Much better. Madam Hartley told me about how you visited me every chance you got."Scorpius nodded. At that moment, Professor Dippet looked over at them and Rose pretended she was very focussed on a note she was writing down.  
At the end of the lesson, Scorpius stopped Rose just outside the doorway. He pulled her into a tight hug. Rose was slightly shocked at first, but wrapped her arms around his back and rested her head on his tough chest. After a few moments, Scorpius let go and looked at Rose. "I was so worried for you."Rose smiled at him. "I'm perfectly fine. Nothing to worry about now.""I know." Sorpius said. "But I just can't help feeling that what if something else happens and no one is there to help you?"  
"Scorpius, just because one showed up doesn't mean every Dementor is going to be lining up outside the castle just waiting to attack me. It was a once off, nothing else is going to happen." She hugged him again, breathing in his scent of pine, enjoying the warmth and safety she felt with apart she looked at him. "Now I have to go. And so do you."Rose walked off and caught up with Amelia who was waiting for her just down the corridor with Alice. Of course they wanted to know about everything that happened.

**A/N: I know this probably sounds really dumb but could someone ease explain what forums are, how they work and how I join one. I really don't get them. Thanks!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	17. A Talk with the Headmistress

The remainder of the week Rose spent organising the Quidditch team. Thanks to Jess' notes, Rose had the team sorted out in no time. The team included James Potter as Seeker, Jessica as Keeper, Casey Spinnet (one of the players from last season), Ava Wallace and herself as Chasers and Larcon Scamander and Luke Wood as Beaters. She'd also posted the reserves for each position, as they were expected to attend training as well so they would know what was happening in case they were needed last minute. Posting the team and training times on the notice board in the common room, there was an instant swarm around it, everyone desperate to see if they'd gotten in. The first game was in two weeks, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, so Rose had organised four training sessions a week, as they were a bit behind. Everyone seemed to approve of the team (except those who were grumpy about missing out on being a part of the team) and Rose was looking forward to the season.

On Friday, during Rose's last class for the day (Charms with Professor Flint), Headmistress Horton, looking the same as usual in her unkempt blue robes and her hair in a messy bun, knocked on the door. Everyone turned to look at her, surprised to see her, most of all the teacher, who almost fell of his chair in shock. The Headmistress rarely left her office except for the feasts and important events, it was even rarer for her to turn up during the middle of a lesson. "Sorry for the interruption Professor Flint," she said, "but may I please have a word with Miss Weasley." Professor Flint just nodded, his relief obvious that Horton wasn't there to talk to got up from her seat and walked over to the door. Why did the Headmistress want to talk with her? Was she in trouble?Walking out of the classroom, Horton closed the door quietly behind them and led Rose down the corridor away from the classroom. Rose's worry and shock must've been clear on her face, as the Headmistress said, "Don't worry Rose, you haven't done anything wrong. I just needed to ask you about your run in with a Dementor. Could you please tell me what happened." Rose relaxed, her worry evaporating. She recounted the event, from when she heard the screams until she'd blacked out, leaving out the part about Scorpius carrying her. Professor Horton listened carefully, her lips pursed. Hen Rose finished she asked, "So you're sure it was a Dementor?" "Yes, definitely." Rose nodded. "I recognised it from the study we did on it in Defence Against the Dark Arts.""And you said your Patronus was a phoenix?"Rose nodded again."Thank you Miss Weasley. I just needed to hear what happened from you. You see, Dementors were strong supporters of Lord Voldemort during the Second Wizarding War, it's very troubling that they have shown up in the Forbidden Forest. My greatest fear is that a supporter of him managed to grow some, as they grow similarly to a fungus in dark, damp places, and set them loose on the school grounds in hope to do some damage. However, now I suspect they have just started growing somewhere in the forest, as there would be many perfect places for them to start growing." Horton was silent for a few moments, lost in thought. Breaking out of her reverie, she said, "Anyway, I highly doubt you want to listen to an old woman's ramblings. Thank you for your time Miss Weasley, you may return to class."The Headmistress walked off in the opposite direction to the Charms classroom.


	18. Finally

That Saturday a Hogsmeade trip was scheduled and Scorpius had sought out Rose Friday after school and asked her if she would like to go on a date with him to the town. Rose had instantly agreed, glad she would be able to spend the time with him.  
The weather on Saturday could've been a lot better. The sun was shining, but the weather was still freezing. A slight wind was blowing, making the weather even colder. Nonetheless, Rose was looking forward to the Hogsmeade trip. Rose put on her black jeans with a grey long-sleeved shirt and a red woolen with Scorpius in the Entrance Hall, she hugged him, breathing in his intoxicating scent. He was wearing denim jeans with a grey shirt and a black leather , none of her close friends had decided to go. Rose assumed they must've sensed Rose wanted to be alone with Scorpius without them always hanging around."Ready to go?" he asked, smiling at her."Yep!" Rose said, excited for the day held hands all the way to Hogsmeade, walking slightly behind the rest of the group to avoid the staring eyes.  
Once at Hogsmeade they headed straight for The Three Broomsticks. Entering the toasty warm room, they sat next to each other at one of the tables near the crackling fire. As usual, the pub was crowded and the air slightly smoggy. The landlady bustled around, carrying several drinks at a time. Rose and Scorpius ordered a warm, frothing Butterbeer each, sipping them as they talked. Once their Butterbeers were finished, they paid and left. Walking hand-in-hand, they headed towards the outskirts of the town.  
"Rose." Scorpius said, stopping and turning to face her. She could see the look of worry in his face. "I know we talked about it and you said you were fine, but ever since the Dementor attack I can't help but worry about you."  
"Scorpius I know you're worried but..." she went to say but Scorpius politely cut her off.  
"Please just let me explain. I know I'm worrying for nothing but I still worry. I just couldn't stand it if something happened to you." he said, looking into her eyes and holding her looked up at him, staring into his ashen grey eyes. His nose and cheeks were red from the cold and his hair was just falling into his eyes. His arms around her waist felt strong and protective: nothing could hurt her or make her sad when she was with him. He was stood on tiptoe, bringing her lips closer to his. He moved closer to her, lowering his head. Rose felt exhilarated, never had she felt like this before. The butterflies in her stomach were rioting and her hands were almost trembling. Their lips brushed against each other. Rose took a deep breath through her nose, breathing in his scent. She deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. Scorpius kissed her back, leaning down more so she didn't have to stretch as much. The feel of his lips on hers was incredible, it was such a new feeling for Rose. They were locked in their embrace for several moments, until finally Rose broke away. She looked up at Scorpius, who stared back at her. He brushed one of her red curls out of her face. She reached up and kissed him again. Her emotions were like fireworks, making her feel as light as a helium balloon. This was so perfect, she never wanted this moment to end. Scorpius finally broke away. She smiled, hugging Scorpius tightly, resting her head on his muscled chest.  
Eventually, they broke apart from their embrace and walked back to the main street in comfortable silence, both of them thinking about what had just happened. Together, holding hands the whole time, they stopped at Honeydukes, talking as they each filled a bag with an assortment of delicious sweets. They also stopped at Zonko's, looking at the various items but not actually buying anything. Whilst eating their sweets, they talked and talked, letting the conversation steer itself from one topic to another. At one point, someone set off a Dungbomb in the store, causing everyone to make a hasty exit from the foul-smelling shop. After that, they simply walked the streets, peering into the windows of shops, looking at the range of magical items on display, voicing their opinion about the things they saw.  
Rose was so blissfully happy with Scorpius. The kiss had been so perfect and Scorpius was a better guy than she could ever have imagined.  
All too soon, they had to return to Hogwarts. Scorpius and Rose parted ways at the Entrance Hall. Even though Rose was going to see him the next day in Potions, it wasn't the same as having one-on-one time with him. She walked back to the common room, replaying in her mind the kiss with Scorpius.


	19. Gryffindor vs Slytherin

The next week was like any other, except now Rose spent more time with Scorpius. They'd started working together in the library, helping each other with their work. In Advanced Potions they were now beginning the process of making the Chelidonium Miniscula and were required to be in groups of three. Amelia and Scorpius had both immediately turned to Rose, so they'd formed a group.  
On top of all her work, Rose had Quidditch practice four times a week. The team were really skilled and all committed to the team. In a space of just two and a half weeks, Rose felt her team had a very good chance of beating Slytherin.  
The morning of the Quidditch game arrived. Rose was awake early after having had a restless sleep the night before and could only imagine how the new players on the team were feeling. She knew there was no point lying in bed so she dressed in her Quidditch robes and went down to the Great Hall. No one else from the team was there yet, but they slowly trickled in, everyone nervous except for Jessica. "This is going to be such a good game!" Jess exclaimed. "Those Slytherins don't stand a chance!"Most of the team just nodded, some of them looking very queasy."Come on everyone." Rose said. "Eat up! You'll need energy for the game." Rose started nibbling at the corners of her toast.  
The hall started filling up with the students, all dressed in the colours of the team they were supporting. Rose groaned when the Slytherin team entered, as they all booed loudly across the hall at Rose and the team. Thankfully, the many supporters of Gryffindor yelled insults back at the Slytherins.  
All too soon, it came time to go down to the pitch. The team walked down in a tight huddle and entered the changing rooms. The team were all very quiet with the exception of Jessica, who was buzzing around the changing rooms yelling out words of encouragement to the team. "Alright everyone!" Rose said, standing up so that everyone could see her. "You've all trained so well these past few weeks and I'm confidant that we have a very good chance of beating Slytherin! Just remember what we practiced and don't let what they say get to you. We all make mistakes so don't beat yourself up if you do something wrong. You're all fantastic players! Ok, let's go."  
They walked out on the pitch carrying their broomsticks. Rose shook hands with the Slytherin captain, Lucas Hinch, who almost crushed her hand. "Right, mount your brooms." The referee, Madam Lakely called. Rose got on her Firebolt, her legs bent and ready for a hard push off to get the Quaffle first. "On my whistle. Three... Two... One..." The shrill call off the whistle rang out across the pitch. The Quaffle was thrown upwards and Rose kicked off hard, her arm outstretched towards the red ball. Her hand closed around it and she pulled it in close, just beating Slytherin Chaser, Gregory Thompson to it. He swore loudly, but Rose was already way above him, soaring towards the goals. Casey and Ava were flying slightly behind her on either side. Rose was so focussed on the game she couldn't even hear the crowd. Out of nowhere a Slytherin Chaser soared upwards a few metres ahead directly in front of her. Rose instinctively passed the Quaffle to Ava on her right. Rose swerved sharply to the left to avoid the oncoming Slytherin. It was only thanks to the speed of her Firebolt that she managed to avoid colliding into him. The field was clear between Ava and the goalposts. She held the Quaffle in her hand, poised to score. Pretending she was going to throw it into the right goal, she made the Keeper swerve then threw it into the left goal. SCORE! Rose cheered. "Well done Ava!"  
Rose glanced up at James who was circling the field, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he searched for the Snitch. Turning her attention back to the game happening, Rose readied herself to catch the Quaffle. Gryffindor gained possession. Casey was racing down the pitch again, Rose flew beside her. Out of nowhere a Bludger came pelting towards Ava. She noticed it a at the last moment, yelping and swerving upwards. She dodged the Bludger, but dropped the Quaffle. A Slytherin zoomed underneath her, catching the Quaffle and turning towards their goals. Larcon hit a Bludger towards the Chaser, but he swerved and kept on going. The field was clear ahead and Gryffindor couldn't do anything but watch, except for Jessica. The Chaser held the Quaffle high and pelted it towards the left goal. Jessica lunged for it, her arm outstretched to catch it or whack it away. The Quaffle hit her fingertips, but it wasn't enough to stop it. Slytherin scored, making the score even, 10-10.  
The game continued on for what seemed like ages, the possession of the Quaffle constantly changing, goals being scored by both teams. Jessica made some incredible saves and Lorcan and Lucas managed to make a few Slytherins drop the Quaffle. After an hour, the Snitch still hadn't even been sighted. The score was 100-70 to Slytherin when Rose noticed out of the corner of her eye James in a head-first dive towards the ground. His arm was reaching out to the golden glint just in front of him. All players stopped, watching James. The Slytherin Seeker was racing across from the other side of the field, but he was too far away.  
James snatched at the Snitch, catching it in his hand as he crashed into the ground, rolling over and over. Rose gasped. Watching with concern as James stood up on shaky legs, holding the up the Snitch triumphantly. Rose cheered and whooped along with the rest of the supporters. She swooped down and landed next to James, pulling him into a tight hug. "Fantastic James!" She yelled. "Hope that crash didn't hurt too much."  
"Nothing Madam Hartley won't be able to fix." he said smiling at her.  
The rest of the team had rushed over, congratulating James.  
The celebration in the common room that night was amazing. The team were treated like heroes and Rose received many positive comments about the tactics she'd taught the team that were used in the game.  
Rose didn't get to sleep until the early hours of the morning, her mind still buzzing with thoughts about the game and their spectacular win.


	20. A Friendly Chat

Rose only woke up the next day at lunch time. The dorm was empty and Rose consider going back to sleep. She persuaded herself to roll out of her bed and got dressed slowly, not bothering to brush her hair, leaving it out as a tangled mess. Yawning loudly and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she walked down the steps to the common room. The room was empty except for Chelsea who instantly rushed over to Rose, grabbing her arm tightly, but not so that she was hurting her. "Come on. We need to talk to you." she said, pulling Rose along with her."What's this about?" Rose asked, very confused."You'll see." she said, dragging Rose out the portrait hole and down the corridor."Ok then. Can you at least let go of my arm. I'll still follow you." said Rose, trying to yank her arm from Chelsea's grasp.  
Chelsea released her grip and continued walking. Rose followed, almost having to run to keep up with Chelsea's quick pace. Chelsea kept glancing back at Rose, as if she was expecting Rose to run off as soon as she turned her back. Chelsea led Rose to the back of the library. Ivy, Jess, Alice and Amelia had moved several armchairs into a circle with two empty ones. Chelsea plopped into the first spare chair and Rose hesitantly sat down in the second chair.  
"Well Rose." Alice said. Rose couldn't tell if she was being very serious or very sarcastic. "We've been told that you've made some significant progress with your boyfriend."  
Rose was silent, not sure how her friends would react to the news that she had kissed Scorpius. Even though they'd probably already heard about it from someone else, they were bound to fuss over Rose once they heard the news from her.  
They were all looking at her expectantly. After hesitating a moment, Rose squealed excitedly."It was just a kiss." Rose said, trying to calm her friend down. "Just a kiss!" Ivy giggled. "That's like saying a tsunami is 'just a little wave'."  
Rose blushed and looked down, her hair falling into her face.  
"Come on then!" Alice exclaimed. "Tell us everything!"  
Her friends all looked very eager. After a moment's silence, Rose started telling them everything that had happened with her and Scorpius since their talk after Potions earlier in the week. She knew her friends would tell her if the same thing happened to them, so Rose was fine explaining everything to her friends. They listened intently and Amelia giggled excitedly when Rose told them about the kiss. When she was finished, Alice rushed over and hugged Rose tightly, pretty much crushing the air out of her. "Ohh our little Rose is growing up." she said with mock sadness, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye.  
"Gosh Alice can't you see your crushing the poor girl!" Jess said.  
"Oh! Sorry Rose!" Alice exclaimed, jumping back.  
"It's fine." Ose reassured her. "Who would I tell this stuff to if I didn't have friends like you?!" Rose said to them all.  
Alice hugged Rose again, (not as tightly this time) and all the other girls joined in hugging her as well.  
"Geroff me!" Rose yelled, her voice muffled from underneath the group hug. The girls laughed and all sat back in their seats.  
They started talking about the Quidditch match and Rose and Jess' spectacular flying skills when Professor Forsvar emerged from the rows of bookshelves.  
All the girls turned to look at her. She looked the same as ever, but instead of her usual relaxed expression her face looked very stern. "I'm sorry to interrupt girls but all sixth and seventh years have been called to the Great Hall." She said. "You're required to make your way there immediately." She finished before turning on her heel and walking back through the rows of bookshelves to the front of the library.  
The girls exchanged confused expressions, all of them unsure why, on a weekend, they would have to go to the hall."I wonder what's going on." Ivy pondered "Well I guess we better go to the hall." Chelsea said, standing up. "It's the only way we're going to find out."The rest of the girls stood as well and walked in a group to the Great Hall.

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this. I really appreciate it and would love it if you would comment your thoughts about my fanfic. **

**Thanks!**

**Happy reading!**


	21. Assemblies and Alice

The girls walked into the Great Hall to see about half of the sixth and seventh years gathered at their house tables. Alice and Amelia both walked off to the Hufflepuff table whilst Chelsea, Ivy, Jess and Rose sat down at the Gryffindor table. More students were constantly coming into the hall until almost the whole of the two grades were seated. Up the front stood, Professor Flint (Head of Hufflepuff), Professor Dippet (Head of Slytherin), Professor Chang (Head of Ravenclaw) and Headmistress Horton. Professor Forsvar walked in a few moments later followed by the final few students.  
Horton cast her gaze across the room, looking across at all the students. "Well I'm sure you're all wondering why you've been gathered here on a Sunday afternoon." she began. "This is a very important matter and I need you all to listen very carefully. Dementors have been found growing in the Forbidden Forest very close to the school."At this announcement a buzz of chatter broke out in the hall. Horton waited a few moments before continuing, causing everyone to quieten down again. "The centaurs have been grieving the loss of one of their leaders and their despair has provided perfect conditions for the Dementors to grow." She paused for a moment, looking around the hall, before continuing, "After much debate, the staff have come to the conclusion that sixth and seventh years will practice casting a Patronus in their Defence Against the Dark Arts classes over the next two weeks with a special teacher being called in for this task. At the end of the two weeks eight students from each year who consistently produce the best will assist staff in ridding the forest of the Dementors."Everyone in the hall started excitedly discussing the news and Rose heard her name mentioned in several conversations along the Gryffindor table. Rose looked across to the Slytherin table where she could see Scorpius looking at her, his expression a mixture of emotions. Chelsea leaned over the table and whispered to Rose, "No doubt you'll be one of the eight." Rose knew people would expect her to easily be able to cast a Patronus again, but she wasn't so sure. What if when she'd cast the spell in the Forest it had just been a spur-of-the-moment thing and she wouldn't be able to again? Rose was saved having to reply to Chelsea as the Headmistress spoke above the chatter, saying, "Over the next two weeks all students are to stay well away from the Forest and Prefects are to inform the other students. Now, everyone, off you go!" The Headmistress finished, dismissing the students. Everyone got up from their tables, talking excitedly as they left the hall, all going in different directions. Rose, Ivy, Chelsea and Jess walked back to where they had been in the Library. Alice and Amelia walked in moments later, both sitting down on an armchair. They started talking about Patronuses and theories on who the teacher might be, but Rose hardly noticed what they were saying, her mind was full of questions about her ability to cast a Patronus again.  
"Come on Rose." Alice's voice said, breaking through Rose's thoughts. She looked over at Alice sitting in the armchair opposite her. Rose had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the other girls had left."Where'd everyone go?" she asked Alice.  
"Amelia and Ivy went to find books on casting a Patronus, Jess went out to the Quidditch Pitch and Chelsea went back to her dorm." Alice explained. "Let's go." she said to Rose, getting up.  
"Where?" Rose asked.  
"Does it matter?" Alice replied whimsically, walking through the bookshelves to the front of the Library. Rose got up and followed her, she didn't have anything better to do.  
Alice walked through the castle to the Owlery. Rose shivered slightly because of the cold wind coming in from the glass-less windows. The alcoves in the walls were filled with sleeping owls of every kind. Occasionally, an owl would fly in through a window, landing on one of the perches in an alcove. Rose noticed her own owl, Athena, who opened her eyes to look at Rose when she walked in. Alice pulled out a piece of parchment from her pocket. "Do you mind if I use your owl?" she asked Rose politely. "I'm already using Mercury to send a letter home." Alice explained, referring to her own owl. Rose nodded, still a bit confused as to why Alice had wanted Rose to follow her. "Thanks." Alice said, walking over to Athena who stood up, rustled her feathers and stuck out her leg for Alice. Once Alice had tied the letter onto Athena's leg, the owl stood and stretched out her wings before taking off and flying out of the window. "So." Alice said, looking at Rose. "I can tell you're worried about casting a Patronus."Rose sighed, of course Alice knew Rose was worried about that, they were such close friends they could pretty much read each other's minds."Don't freak out." Alice said, "I know you don't think that you'll be able to cast a Patronus again but I know you can. That spell isn't just a once off thing, once you've done it once you can do it over and over again." Alice looked out the window at the setting sun. "And so what if you can't." Alice continued, "You shouldn't have to live up to other people's expectations and no one will care if you can't produce a Patronus, they'll just see it as better chances for them to take on the Dementors."  
Rose looked at Alice. "Thanks Alice."  
"Anytime." Alice replied, smiling. "I hate seeing my best friend worry."  
"It's getting dark. We should probably head back to our dorms before we get into trouble." Rose said.  
Alice hugged Rose tightly, reassuring her again before she walked down the hallway to the Hufflepuff common room.  
When Rose reached her own dorm, she got ready for bed quietly, trying to avoid everyone else. When the other girls came in, she pretended to be asleep. Rose lay awake in her bed for hours, doing her best not to worry about the DADA lesson first up the next day. Too tired to stay awake, Rose eventually fell into a restless sleep.

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for not posting for a while, I've been away seeing family with no wi-fi. But here it is! Please review. Happy reading!**


	22. The Return

Rose walked into Defence Against the Dark Arts the next morning with a stomach full of butterflies. She'd woken up early and had barely been able to eat breakfast. At the front of the classroom stood Professor Forsvar talking to a man with messy black hair and vibrant green eyes behind circular glasses. It was, of course, her uncle Harry Potter. He smiled and winked at Rose when she walked in. Rose smiled back, glad her uncle would be teaching them. Several students gasped as they walked into the classroom when they noticed Harry, amazed someone so famous was standing in the classroom. As Rose took her seat at a desk next to Alice, Professor Forsvar started talking. "Welcome everyone. As you were told yesterday we will be focussing on the Patronus charm for the next two weeks. To help us, Mr Harry Potter will be mainly teaching these lessons. You'll listen to him and follow his instructions and treat him like you would treat any other teacher. So, over to you Mr Potter." Harry stood there smiling as Professor Forsvar introduced him and stepped forward once she was finished."Ok everyone." he began. "I want you all to get your wands out and push the desks to the side." Everyone quickly got up and hurried to push the desks against the walls, then they gathered in the open space in front of Harry."So before we can cast a Patronus you first need to know how it works." Harry started explaining. "I know many of you have learnt about this, but just to refresh your memories. Dementors feed off of a person's misery and a Patronus is basically a spell of pure happiness. To cast it one must be thinking of their happiest memory and say the words 'Expecto Patronum'. Come on, say it with me..." The whole class echoed the incantation. "Very good." Harry continued. "There are two forms of the spell: incorporeal and corporeal. The incorporeal form is easier to cast, but not as effective. It looks like a bit like a silvery mist. The corporeal Patronus takes the form of an animal unique to each witch or wizard. It's quite harder but much more protective."  
A hand at the back of the class went up. "Yes?" Harry said, addressing the person with their hand up. "Can you show us what a Patronus looks like?" The student asked. The question was quickly followed by the pleas of many other students, asking Harry to demonstrate the spell. Harry, obviously not wanting to disappoint the class, agreed. Everyone stood to the side, waiting excitedly. Harry pulled his wand from his pocket and, holding it up, said loudly, "Expecto Patronum!" Almost everyone gasped as a stag of silver light burst from Harry's wand. The students watched in awe as the stag galloped around the room. Rose had seen Harry's Patronus several times as he was always begged to cast the spell at family gatherings, yet a Patronus charm always amazed her. The stag galloped around the classroom a few times before fading to nothing. There was a loud round of applause from everyone and calls for Harry to cast the spell a second time. Professor Forsvar quietened the class down with one steely gaze. "Ok, now that you've seen it I want you to try." Harry said. "Get into pairs and give it a go. I'll walk around the class and help you out. Remember to focus completely on your happy memory and the happier it is, the better."Alice and Rose paired together and went over to the far corner of the room. "You go first." Rose said, not wanting to try the spell just yet. Alice gave Rose an exasperated look, but got her wand out anyway. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Alice said firmly, "Expecto Patronum!" A silvery mist spilled out from her wand and hovered for a few moments before fading.  
"Give it another try." Rose said encouragingly. Alice tried again, and this time the mist remained for a bit longer. Alice tried several more times, each time the Patronus got bigger and remained visible for longer. Harry came over and watched Alice, praising and commending her for her effort. "You're doing really well." he told her. "It's not an easy spell." The other students weren't making much progress either. Only about half were creating the silver mist and the rest weren't getting any results. "Your turn now." Alice said to reluctantly moved forward. Holding her wand out in front of her, she closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the same memory she'd used in the Forest. "Expecto Patronum!" Rose said firmly. The silver phoenix burst from Rose's wand. The whole class stopped and turned to look at the phoenix circling the room, 'oohing' and 'ahhing'. Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "See that!" Harry said excitedly. "That is a Patronus. Well done Rose!" The class applauded her as the phoenix faded away. Rose blushed a bright red and looked down at her shoes.  
At that moment, the bell chimed, signalling the end of the lesson. "Good work everyone." Harry said to the class. "You've all done really well and remember this is a very advanced spell. If you can, keep practicing and I'll see you next time."

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much to my 573 (and counting) visitors! It's a really good feeling when I see that many people are reading my fanfic!**

**I was just reading back over some of my chapters and I realised how short they look on . Just wanted to say that I aim for at least a page (on my ipad with .5cm boarder) for each chapter. **

**I hope you're enjoying my story and I'd really like it if you could review it!**

**Thanks!**


	23. Disagreements and Discoveries

The rest of the day was uneventful. The news that Harry Potter was the specialist Defence teacher had gotten around and almost everyone was excited to see him. For the last lesson of the day Rose had Potions with Scorpius. She was really happy to see Scorpius, she'd barely talked to him since the kiss and Rose wanted to spend some time with were beginning the Chelidonium Miniscula potion, which would take just over a month to prepare. Professor Dippet sat at his desk, marking essays, completely ignoring the class. The Potions Master had decided that since this was an assessment he was offering absolutely no help."So is Harry Potter a good teacher?" Scorpius asked Rose as they were setting up the equipment."He's really good." Rose said. "Although it's weird having my uncle as a teacher and hearing people call him 'Professor' and 'Sir' When do you have Defence?" she asked Scorpius.

"Only at the end of the week." Scorpius answered, turning away.  
Rose saw a look cross his face. "What's wrong?" she asked him.  
"Nothing." Scorpius said nonchalantly.  
"You're not fooling me. What's bothering you?"  
Scorpius sighed. "Harry Potter and my dad aren't exactly the best of friends. I highly doubt Harry is going to be particularly nice and friendly to me." Scorpius explained.  
Rose was about to reply when Alice walked over to the table, her arms filled with potion ingredients. "Will you two stop chatting and get on with setting up the equipment!" she exclaimed.  
Scorpius glared at Alice for interrupting them. She ignored him, dumping the ingredients on the table, she started sorting them into the order they would be using them. "We need to start by mashing the pufferfish eyes." Alice screwed up her face in a disgusted look. "Here you can do that." she said, handing the mortar, pestle and jar of eyes to Scorpius. Rose could tell Alice didn't like having Scorpius in their group very much. Scorpius looked at Alice with an incredulous look, but sighed and opened the jar. Rose quietly laughed at their childish behaviour.  
Halfway through the lesson, Harry Finnigan accidentally added an extra peacock feather to the potion, causing it to explode, destroying the cauldron and setting the wooden table alight. Everyone around him quickly backed away and Professor Dippet rushed forward, dousing the fire with a stream of water from his wand. Straight away, Professor Dippet snapped at the class to get back to their potion. "The potion isn't going to brew itself!" he'd spat at them. Harry's eyebrows and eyelashes were singed off and his nose and hand that had dropped in the feather were covered in angry, red burns. Dippet sent him to the Hospital Wing and berated the other two boys in Harry's group who were laughing hysterically.  
Throughout the entire class, Alice and Scorpius kept throwing each other sour looks. Alice continually gave Scorpius the undesirable tasks, such as gutting the horned toad. Scorpius kept looking to Rose, as if expecting her to say something to her friend, but Rose wanted to stay out of their petty argument as much as possible. The bell finally rang and the group carefully carried the boiling potion to the windowsill, where it would brew overnight in the light from the quarter moon.  
Once they were out of class, Alice made a mumbled excuse to Rose, telling her she was going to the Library, then stormed off down the corridor. Scorpius huffed beside Rose, "Well she's not in a good mood."  
"Well you weren't exactly the nicest person to her." Rose said exasperatedly.  
"She was the one who interrupted us. And then she kept giving me all the gross tasks. My hands still smell like toad guts." he argued.  
"So what if she interrupted us!" Rose exclaimed angrily. "It's so stupid to hold a grudge against something as petty as that."  
"So you don't care about how rude Alice was to me?!" Scorpius said back. They'd stopped walking now and were facing each other. Some people had started to stare.  
"Can't you get it into your head that you were both being incredibly childish!" Rose was very annoyed.  
"She didn't even say sorry!" Scorpius was almost yelling, but he was trying to keep calm, not wanting to yell in a crowded hallway.  
"Fine! Believe what you want!" Rose huffed, walking off down the corridor. She was so frustrated that Scorpius had tried to drag her into this and make her take his side.  
She wandered though the corridors, not really paying attention to where she ended up. All she really wanted was a place to sit for a bit where no one would disturb her.  
Rose had wandered to a deserted section of the castle and had unintentionally walked through the same corridors several times. She angrily pushed open a pair of doors she thought led to an empty classroom. Rose stood in the doorway, stunned at what she saw before her. Instead of an empty classroom, the room was small and cosy. A big, red velvet cushioned chair was place next to a wooden table in front a glowing fireplace. The warmth from the fire was enough to warm the room but not overheat the space, perfect for the early-December weather. The room looked exactly like a place Rose had been thinking of escaping to. The sight of it had already calmed her down a bit, but she was still angry about Scorpius and Alice's actions.  
Crossing the threshold, Rose sat down in the armchair, inking into the cushioned seat. She then pulled out her homework and quill and spread it out on the table. Rose needed something to take her mind of her row with Scorpius and despite trying to do her homework, she still spent several minutes fuming over the argument. She had to get out a new piece of parchment and start again because she'd been pressing down too hard with the quill, creating blotches of ink on the page and making her words unreadable. Although once she started focussing on what she was doing, her writing became legible. After finishing her History of Magic homework, she set down her quill and sank back into the chair.  
Alice had been rude to Scorpius, yet Scorpius hadn't dealt with it well and had been equally as rude. Rose closed her eyes and sighed. 'Why did her best friend and boyfriend have to be arguing?' She thought to herself. 'If Scorpius or Alice tries to drag me into this I'm just going to walk off,' she decided. 'It's their argument and I'm not going to be a part of it.'  
She glanced at her watch and gasped at the time. Several hours had passed and she hadn't even noticed. Quickly stuffing her things into her bag, she rushed out of the room, taking note of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy opposite the door.


	24. An Untimely Interruption

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Rose walked quickly through the corridors to the Gryffindor tower. She'd almost reached the portrait of the Fat Lady when Scorpius came around the corner. Rose tried to dash down another hallway but he'd already seen her. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you." he said as he walked over to her.  
"If you're going to try and tell me how rude Alice was I don't want to hear it!" Rose said with a little more venom than she intended.  
"No that's not what I wanted to say." Scorpius said calmly. "I was looking for you to tell you how sorry I am for the way I acted. I did nothing to improve the situation and just made it worse."  
Even though Scorpius was apologising, Rose wasn't ready to forgive him yet. "It's not me you should be apologising to, it's Alice." Rose said harshly.  
"I know and I have." Scorpius explained, ignoring Rose's cruel tone. "I found her almost as soon as you ran off."  
Rose knew she couldn't be mad at him when he'd done as much as he could to make amends. Rose sighed then walked over to Scorpius and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her back and held her close. Rose breathed in his smell and leant her head against his muscled chest.  
After a few moments, Rose reached up and kissed Scorpius tenderly. He kissed her back hungrily, holding her close to him. She hooked her hands behind his neck, relishing the moment. Scorpius wrapped his arms around Rose's waist, keeping her close to him. Both Rose and Scorpius were so focussed on each other that they didn't hear the sound of footsteps growing louder.  
"What do you think you're doing with my sister?" A voice said, bringing Rose back to reality. She turned to see Hugo standing at the end of the corridor, his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out, trying to look intimidating.  
"Didn't you hear me? I asked you what are you doing with my sister?" Hugo said again when Scorpius didn't reply.  
"Hugo what do you think you're doing?" Rose cut in before Scorpius could answer.  
Hugo walked forward towards them, scrutinising Scorpius. Rose could see Hugo putting the pieces together. "Wait... This isn't... No way!" he said, the realisation dawning in his face. "Mum and dad are going to have a fit. Oh and Uncle Harry is going to be furious."  
"If you say anything you will regret it." Rose threatened.  
Hugo glared at Rose. "Fine. I won't. But you do realise you'll have to tell them eventually. Anyway, you owe me big time now." he finished. Hugo scowled at Scorpius then ran off down the corridor.  
Rose and Scorpius stood in silence for a moment before Scorpius offered to walk with Rose to the Gryffindor tower. Rose nodded and walked hand-in-hand with Scorpius to the edge corridor with the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
Rose was quiet the entire time. She was thinking about what Hugo had said. She would have to eventually tell her parents about Scorpius and it wasn't something she was looking forward to. It was obvious how much her parents and Uncle Harry despised the Malfoy family and Rose couldn't predict how they would react.  
Scorpius must have known she was thinking about that, because before he left he said, "When it comes time to tell your family I'll be right beside you. They can't hate me for something I had nothing to do with. Don't think about it now, we have ages to decide when and how we'll tell them."  
Rose nodded and smiled up at Scorpius, "Thanks." she said with a fake a cheerfulness, trying to show Scorpius that she wasn't worrying about it. Scorpius lightly kissed her on the lips and walked off in the opposite direction to the Fat Lady.


	25. Only More Questions

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Rose entered the Gryffindor common room the next morning to see a tightly-packed crowd of people around the notice board. Rose pushed her way to the front of the crowd and saw a great, big poster covering the entire notice board.

_APPARATION LESSONS_  
_If you are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on_

_or before 31st August, you are eligible for a twelve-week_

_course of Apparation Lessons from a Ministry of MagicApparation Instructor._

_Please sign below if you would like to participate._

_Cost: 12 Galleons_

Students were clambering to sign on the notice, scrawling their name on the sheet wherever possible. Already a long list of names was growing. Rose managed to get the quill being passed around quickly and signed her name, then shoved her way back out of the crowd over to Chelsea who was sitting in one of the armchairs.

Rose plopped down into the chair across from Chelsea. "Hey Chels." she greeted her.

"Hey Rose." Chelsea replied, smiling at her. Rose noticed Chelsea had dark circles under her eyes.

"Why do you look so tired?" Rose asked curiously

"Natalie was sleep talking last night. It wasn't very loud, but loud enough to keep me awake." Chelsea explained. "She was muttering something about Death Eaters and stuff. Although every time I'd get up to wake her up, it was like she could sense me and thought I was trying to hurt her. She'd start talking more louder and louder. Eventually I just gave up." Chelsea said, yawning.

"Has she said anything about what she was dreaming about that night she woke up screaming?" Rose asked.

Chelsea shook her head. "She's still as cold as ever towards me. Whenever I try and talk to her she glares at me and acts as if I'm not there."

Rose sighed. "I wish she'd tell us what was going on."

"I know, but she hates us, we'd be the last people she would tell."  
Rose was silent for a moment, even more questions swirling around her head about Natalie.

"Want to go now?" Chelsea asked, breaking Rose out of her reverie.

"Sure." Rose said, standing up and walking with Chelsea out of the common room.


	26. A Startling Talk

Chelsea and Rose parted ways on their way to their first lesson, so Rose walked on her own though the corridors to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Her mind was completely focussed on her happy memories to prepare for casting a Patronus charm, and when someone tapped her on the shoulder, she yelped in surprise and dropped her books.

"Wow, I didn't think you were so easy to scare!" The voice of James Potter said from behind her.

"I'm not!" Rose huffed. "I was just distracted!" She knelt down, gathering her dropped books.

James bent down to help her. "Well, sorry." he said. "I've just been talking to Dad and he said how good your Patronus is."

It took a moment for Rose to realise that James was talking about Harry Potter. "Have you managed to cast a corporeal Patronus yet?" she asked.

"Yep." James said proudly. "It's a tiger. Dad says it's because I'm so headstrong and reckless."

Rose laughed, her annoyance at James for startling her evaporating. She agreed completely with what Harry had said. She remembered one time over the holidays when the family had gotten together, James had wanted to play a prank on the neighbour. The particular neighbour was an elusive, aged wizard living in such a run-down house it looked almost like the Shrieking Shack. James created an elaborate plan to make it seem as if his house was on fire. He was so determined to involve his siblings and cousins (including Rose) that he managed to convince them all to join him in his scheme. The prank was a spectacular fail, with the house actually catching alight and burning to the ground. Thankfully, the old wizard had been away at the time and no one was hurt. They'd all been in serious trouble, yet James had smirked through the whole lecture from their parents, proud that he'd even attempted such a prank. When the wizard returned to a burnt cinder of a house, he'd raged at them, yet James laughed it all off, finding the whole thing hilarious.

"So do you think you'll get picked to go into the forest?" she asked him.

"Hopefully." James replied. "If Dad says I can't go I'll just argue that he did some crazy, highly dangerous stuff while he was at school." he smiled. "Compared to his adventures, taking care of a few Dementors is as dangerous as patting a cat."

Rose giggled. "Well, I don't know, cats can be pretty dangerous, with their pointed teeth and razor-sharp claws." she joked.

"Not Lily's cat. That cat would let you throw it around and it wouldn't do anything to try and stop you or hurt you." James said. "Oh, and you're kind of late for class." he added, handing Rose the last book and standing up.

"Wait, so you're telling me you scared me, and made me late to class, just to tell me you'd talked to your dad about my Patronus?" Rose said incredulously, standing up as well.

"Well, I didn't mean to scare you, or make you late- but otherwise, yep pretty much." he said with a cheeky grin.

"You are unbelievable James Potter." Rose said, trying to sound stern, although she couldn't help smiling. "See you around." she said to him, turning and walking quickly to her classroom.


	27. Avoidance, Attacks and Astonishment

Rose walked into the classroom, where the desks had already been moved aside and the students gathered in front of Harry. "Come on in Rose." Harry said when he noticed her at the threshold. Rose dumped her bag in the corner and joined the crowd.

Harry began much in the same way and soon Rose and Alice were practicing the spell again. By the end of the lesson, Alice had managed to cast a Corporeal Patronus. She'd shrieked with laughter as the silver Labrador burst from her wand, bounding playfully around the room. Another student, a boy Rose thought was called Jerry Boot, had also managed to create a Patronus in the form of a grizzly bear.

When the echoes of the bell chimed through the school and Harry dismissed them from class, Rose walked out and saw Scorpius at the end of the hallway. "Hey! Scorp!" she called out cheerfully to him, pushing her way through the flood of students towards him. Scorpius looked over his shoulder at her and started walking quickly away from her. Rose frowned in confusion, but continued trying to make her way to him, thinking maybe he hadn't realised it was her. She called out to him again and he glanced back over his shoulder to look at her but he immediately turned away and continued walking away more quickly, around a corner and out of sight. Rose turned the corner moments later, staring down the corridor and looking for his unmistakable white-blonde hair. She searched the crowd of students for several minutes, but couldn't see Scorpius anywhere. Rose sighed and walked back the way she'd come.

Questions chased themselves around in her head as she walked across the grounds to the Greenhouses. Why did Scorpius walk away from her? Had he mistaken her for someone else? Had she done something wrong? Hw could she ask him what was going on if he was ignoring and avoiding her?

When Rose reached Greenhouse Number 3, she was still just as confused. For the start of the lesson, Rose only half paid attention, the other half of her mind wondering about Scorpius. Even though she knew it was pointlessly trying to answer her questions, she couldn't stop dwelling on it.

Rose was brought fully back to reality when she felt a tight squeeze around her wrist. She looked down at the Snargaluff plant on the table. The plant looked like a gnarled stump, yet slowly more and more vines were starting to expose themselves, reaching out and wrapping themselves around whatever they could find. Whilst Rose and the other two people she was working with (Lucy and Oliver: two Hufflepuffs she only knew by their names) hadn't started attacking the plant yet, it was starting to get a bit restless. Rose beat back a few vines with her secateurs, but the vines only seemed to become more feisty, so she just stepped back out of its reach.

Professor Longbottom began directing them, "Alright everyone, as you all know these Snargaluff plants contain pods that we'll be trying to extract. The vines that some of the plants are starting to display are its main defence. They're quite nasty and will try to eat you, but just beat them back. The pods will be in a hole in the stump. Ok, everyone got their gloves and goggles on? Start retrieving the pods in three... Two... One!"

As if sensing the oncoming attack, the plant instantly sprang to life. Its vines shot out in all directions, one wrapping itself around Oliver's head. Oliver yelped and started clawing at the vine and Lucy beat at it with her secateurs. Rose started grabbing several of the vines and tied them into knots. A hole opened in the middle of the stump. Lucy, who'd managed to remove the vine from Oliver's head, bravely plunged her arm into the hole, which immediately closed tight around her elbow. Oliver and Rose pulled at the vines until the hole released its grip and Lucy could extract her arm, holding a green pod the size of a grapefruit. The moment Lucy had freed her arm, the vines shot back into the plant and disappeared into it, leaving it looking like a dead, gnarled stump again.

Lucy put the pod into a bowl and Rose grabbed her knife and stabbed it. Pale green tubers spilled from the pod, filling the bowl. Around the greenhouse, everyone else had managed to retrieve their pods as well and were now trying to pierce them. Across the room, a student had dropped theirs and the pod was now rolling around the room, making a beeline for the closed door. "Make sure you don't let that pod escape, they can wreak a bit of havoc." Professor Longbottom called to the student chasing the pod.

At the end of their lesson, once they'd taken their bowl up to Professor Longbottom, the class was dismissed. Rose made her way back up to the castle, walking as slowly as possibly to the History of Magic classroom.

Rose arrived moments before the bell rang to signal the start of the lesson. As usual, the ghost teacher, Mr Binns, floated through the blackboard and hovered over to his desk. He began droning on and Rose instantly slipped into a stupor, only half paying attention to the lecture, absentmindedly taking notes.

Halfway through the lesson, Rose noticed a whispered conversation happening behind her. She turned and saw two Ravenclaw girls whispering to each other, a Daily Prophet spread on on their desks.  
"What's so interesting about the newspaper?" Rose asked curiously.

"Take a look for yourself." One of the girls said, handing the newspaper over to her.  
Rose looked at the front page and gasped, almost dropping the newspaper


	28. News from Azkaban

Both of the girls quietly shushed Rose, but there was no need, as Mr Binns was still droning on, unaware of anything but himself. "Could I borrow this for a moment?" Rose asked the girl, who nodded in reply.  
Rose turned back to her desk and spread out the newspaper, staring at the title. After a few moments of digesting the shock, she began reading.

_MASS DEATH EATER BREAKOUT_  
_In the early hours of this morning at Azkaban Prison, inmates were awoken by the noise of several, loud explosions. Guards rushed to the source of the noise where they found the maximum-security cells obliterated and the occupants nowhere to be found. Several Death Eaters who were close to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and responsible for killing many wizards, witches and Muggles during one or both of the wizarding wars are among escapees._  
_In their escape, the Death Eaters killed several guards and further injured many other innocent bystanders._  
_The Daily Prophet tried to reach Mr Harry Potter, Head Auror, for a statement yet he was unavailable. Mr Potter is currently assisting in teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and there are claims he is neglecting his duty as Head Auror of protecting the magical community..._

The article went on to warn the public of their suspected whereabouts and speculated about poor security standards at Azkaban since the replacement of the Dementors. Below the article were several pictures of the escaped Death Eaters. Some of them scowled; whilst others mouths were open in silent, screams of rage; and a few stared blankly, the life gone from their eyes.

One picture in particular greatly unsettled Rose. The man simply stared, but it wasn't a blank expression like some of the others. His eyes were deep and sunken, yet the look in them was one of murderous rage, as if he still had someone out there he was coming to get.

Rose tore her eyes away from the picture and scowled at the article. How on Earth could they say Harry was neglecting his duty? He was the one who pretty much saved them all! If he hadn't been around, times would probably be a lot tougher.

The mention of Dementors also brought Rose's thoughts back to the problem in the Forest. The group would be ridding the Forest of the hooded creature that weekend, and Rose was dreading the possibility of experiencing the dark, empty sadness again. The Dementors in the Forest were also untamed, they wouldn't hesitate to lower their hood and perform the Dementor's Kiss, sucking the soul out of the poor victim. Rose suspected that had been the fate of some of the Death Eaters pictured in The Daily Prophet.

Rose plopped the newspaper back on the girl's desk, who was still deep in conversation with her friend.

Maybe the article was why Scorpius was so worried, Rose thought. She knew his father and grandfather had been on Voldemort's side during the war. Rose had overheard, many times, her father, mother and uncle discussing in whispers late in the night their opinions of the Malfoy family: and few of their comments were positive.

Rose decided that she would seek out Scorpius as soon as she could, telling him she couldn't care less about some stupid newspaper article- it didn't change who he was. When the bell rang, Rose quickly gathered her things and rushed to the Great Hall, thinking that would go there at some point.

She spent all of her break there, sitting at the Gryffindor table, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Scorpius' white-blonde hair or startling grey eyes, yet he didn't turn up. When it came time for Rose to start moving to her next class, she got up slowly and dawdled for as long as possible. Yet soon the Hall emptied and Rose was left alone. Conceding defeat for the time being, she sighed and walked to her next class, hoping Scorpius would make an appearance soon.


	29. The Calm Before the Storm

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For the rest of the week, Rose only saw Scorpius in Advanced Potions. She tried talking to him, asking him what was wrong, but he ignored her completely, only talking to her about the potion. Rose was quickly becoming frustrated with him. After a particularly infuriating Potions lesson with Scorpius, Alice had asked Rose what was going on between them. Rose had snapped at Alice, "What makes you think there's something wrong?! Even if there was, it's not like it's any of your business!" she'd yelled. Rose had instantly regretted her moment of anger. Alice's eyes welled up with tears, she'd muttered a soft apology then walked off. Rose found her and immediately apologised, and thankfully Alice had said there were no hard feelings between them.

But now Rose felt nothing but confusion about her relationship with Scorpius. Were they still together? Or was Scorpius ignoring her because he didn't have the guts to break up with her? Questions kept chasing themselves around and around in Rose's head, and none of them led to answers.

On Saturday morning, the list of all those chosen to fight the Dementors was posted on the notice board. To no one's surprise, Rose was picked. Also among the names was Jerry Boot, James and Albus, Alice and Natalie. Rose also saw Scorpius' name on the list. She wasn't too happy about having to spend that time with him- it was frustrating enough having to go through a Potions lesson. Since he'd started avoiding her, Rose's feelings towards him had changed. If he suddenly decided to start being warm to her again, she wasn't too sure if she'd respond in the same way. He'd been so cold toward her, they couldn't just instantly move on without talking about it, could they? Although one thing she was sure of was that she wanted to know what form his Patronus was.

At the bottom of the notice were instructions telling them to gather in the Entrance Hall at 1pm sharp that afternoon where they would be given further details.

Along with the other selected students, Rose gathered in the Entrance Hall that afternoon, ready to go well before 1 o'clock. Rose was almost shaking with nerves. The last time she'd actually fought a Dementor it had been only one, but this time it would be a whole group. She was glad for the support of the around, Rose noticed many of the others were looking nervous. Jerry was extremely pale and a seventh year girl was sitting on a bench, her head in her hands.

"How you feeling Rosy?" a voice said from behind Rose. She turned to see James behind her, wearing his usual cheeky grin.

"Nervous, but otherwise fine." Rose replied, smiling at her cousin. "How about you?"

"Not too bad. A lot better than some of the others. Look at poor Georgia over there." James said, pointing at the seventh year who looked on the verge of fainting. "She was just as surprised as everyone else when she successfully cast a Patronus."

"Did it take much to convince your dad to let you and Al come?" Rose asked.

"Nah. He thought it would be a good learning experience for us. Although all three of us will probably get a Howler from mum tomorrow." he laughed.

Rose chuckled. "Is he coming with us to the Forest?"

"He was planning on it, but was called back to London for some Auror business." James explained "Something to do with the Death Eater breakout."

Rose was about to reply when the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the hall as several teachers walked down the Grand Staircase. Headmistress Horton lead them, with Professor Forsvar, Professor Longbottom and about four others following behind. "Right! Is everyone here?" Horton called out. She did a quick headcount and her lips pursed tightly. "One person is missing."

"Sorry I'm late." A voice said. Rose watched Scorpius rush down the Grand Staircase, walking quickly to join the group.

"Well, thank you for deciding to grace us with your presence, Mr Malfoy." Horton said, gazing disapprovingly at Scorpius. "Alright, let's get this over and done with."

Horton pushed through the crowd of students and led them out of the castle. Rose stared at the tightly-packed trees, wondering what awaited her in the darkness of the forest.


	30. Dementors

When Rose first stepped into the forest, she could almost feel the happiness seep out of her. Although the Dementors were quite far in, she was so nervous she could hardly recall any happy thoughts. She glanced over at Scorpius and saw him staring straight ahead, ignoring everything around him. "Pretty exciting, hey?" Alice whispered to her, coming to walk beside her. Rose simply nodded, not trusting herself to talk. It was just like Alice to be excited about something so scary, but she'd most likely freeze up moments before we reached the Dementors.

During the hike through the forest, Rose tried to distract herself. She tried listening to Alice as she blabbered on, but she couldn't absorb what she was saying. She also tried naming the plants that she could see, but there few plants other than the enormous trees. Eventually, she gave up and just walked.  
At one point, an ominous shape emerged from the shadows. The teachers all raised their wands at it, but the shape that came into view was a very mangled broomstick. It looked as though it had once been a school broomstick, but it was now almost beyond recognition. Many of the sticks from the tail were missing and the remaining ones were bent at odd angles. It only hovered a few metres above the ground and moved with sudden jerks. The broom flew by the group and disappeared back into the darkness of the forest. Rose saw Professor Longbottom whisper something to Horton, who chuckled.

The forest got considerably colder as they walked further in and soon they all had their wand tips glowing to light the way. After they'd been walking for what seemed like ages over massive tree roots, Horton stopped and shushed them all. "The Dementors are just up ahead." she said quietly to them all. "We're going to attack them from all sides and force them upwards, out the top of the trees. There's several Aurors and Ministry workers waiting above on broomsticks. They'll take care of the rest. You'll each have two teachers with you. right, I trust you know how to get yourselves into groups." Rose and Alice managed to end up in the same group. Unfortunately for Rose, Scorpius and Natalie was also with them.

Professor Longbottom and a teacher Rose didn't know led them to the right. Alice had fallen silent and was now looking very scared. They walked in a wide circle for a while, then Longbottom stopped them. "Ok everyone." he said to them. "We're on the opposite side to where we were before. Just spread out, but stay close enough together that we can help you." they waited for a moment in complete silence, then an owl hooted in the distance. "Alright, that's the signal. Let's go." the Professor , they moved forward in a tight knit circle. The air got colder and Rose struggled to hold on to her happy memories. They emerged from the trees into a large clearing. The sight made Rose gasp. What looked like almost a hundred Dementors were gliding around the clearing, some floating around the higher tree branches. The cold made Rose's teeth chatter and her skin was covered in goosebumps. "Now!" Professor Longbottom yelled. Rose snapped into action and raised her wand."EXPECTO PATRONUM!" she shouted. The phoenix burst from her wand and soared towards the Dementor. Around the forest she could see several other silvery shapes appearing and herding the Dementors to the centre, but they were too far away to clearly make out. Several trees away, Rose heard Alice yell the spell and saw the Labrador burst out from her wand and started bounding around the clearing. Looking around, she noticed Natalie standing at the very edge of the trees, her owl Patronus defending her from an approaching Dementor. Rose turned to look at the edge of the trees, looking for Scorpius, but he was nowhere to be seen. Professor Longbottom and the other teacher stood with Natalie, who was struggling to fend off a group of Dementors. Rose turned back to the clearing and saw her phoenix was flying higher up, forcing several Dementors above the canopy.

Suddenly, Rose felt an overwhelming sadness. All happiness vanished and she felt as cold as the lake during Winter. She looked ahead and saw several Dementors gliding towards her. She glanced up and saw her Phoenix had faded. She tried to scream, but it came out as a whimper. She backed up until her back came up against a tree trunk. The Dementors advanced and Rose held up her wand. "Expecto Patronum." she tried to yell. A feeble white mist came out of her wand and hovered for a few moments, but then faded. Dark spots danced in front her eyes, and the Dementors kept gliding forward. Rose tried screaming again, but no noise came out. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw another dark figure coming towards her. This was the end. There was no one coming to save her.


	31. Saviour

Rose closed her eyes, trying again and again to recall happy memories, but she felt so full of despair that thinking of something happy felt impossible. She could feel the cold breath of the Dementors on her face when, suddenly, a warmth filled her. Rose instantly opened her eyes and saw the Dementors hurriedly gliding away from a Patronus that Rose couldn't properly distinguish. Was it a worm? A fish? Her thoughts about the Patronus were soon replaced when Rose saw who'd casted the spell- none other than Scorpius Malfoy stood beside her, his Patronus sending the Dementors fleeing.

When he'd successfully banished any Dementors nearby, he turned to Rose, offering his hand. Rose hesitated a moment, but then took his hand, unsure of her ability to stand up on her own. Whilst her strength was quickly returning, Rose still felt slightly weakened by the attack. Standing up, Rose wobbled slightly, but Scorpius' arm quickly wrapped around her waist, keeping her steady. They walked out of the clearing and into the trees to avoid being in direct view of the Dementors. Rose looked at him, wondering if he would say anything, but his lips were pulled in a thin line and his eyes gazed straight ahead; his face an expressionless blank.

Rose leant her head on his shoulder, waiting for a reaction, but Scorpius remained standing straight and stiff. Once Rose felt she could stand on her own again, she took a step away from him, hoping he would hold on tight to her, but he instantly dropped his arm. "You should probably go get some chocolate from one of the Professors." he said after a moment. He spoke with as much emotion as a dial tone and he still avoided looking at her. Rose glared at him, hoping he could feel her fury, even though he wasn't looking at her. Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something, Scorpius turned on his heel and walked off. Rose stood there for a moment, but soon the silence of the forest started to unnerve her, so she walked quickly back to clearing.

Feeling better, Rose held her wand at the ready, constantly looking around for a lurking Dementor. Re-entering the clearing, she noticed the majority of the Dementors had been herded to the centre of the clearing. The students and several professors now stood in a widely-spaced circle a few metres away from the hooded figures. Each had their wands extended in front of them and many Patronus charms were surrounding the Dementors. Rose quickly rushed over to join the circle- there was no way she was going to miss out on this. Raising her wand, she shouted the spell and watched as her phoenix burst from her wand and began soaring towards the hooded figures. She was cautious of how far the phoenix travelled from her, but it never soared farther than a few metres. The light of the many Patronus charms illuminated the clearing and sent the Dementors fleeing for the treetops. The Patronuses that could fly followed them up, forcing them above the canopy. When then final few Dementors were forced above the canopy, the groups broke out in cheers and shouts of triumph.

The Professors walked around, handing out pieces of chocolate to everyone for good measure. Rose gratefully took a piece and ate it, feeling her spirits lift. She looked around for Scorpius and she spotted him standing on the outskirts of the group, facing the trees and looking sullen. Rose turned away from him. She was done with him. He'd ignored her, treated her like dirt and been nothing but rude to her. So what if he'd just saved her? It obviously hadn't changed anything.

At that moment, Alice came running over to Rose and hugged her tightly, yelling, "We did it! We got rid of the, all!" she let go of Rose and started blabbering in one breath, "I almost didn't think we'd get them, you know when we first stepped into the clearing but then there were so many Patronuses from everyone and it looked like this plan was going to work, which it did!" Rose nodded, it seemed only Scorpius had noticed her being attacked and done something to save her. In a way, Rose was glad for this, as it meant he couldn't use it against her to guilt her in to doing something for him. This way, she could just feign ignorance or accuse him of lying. "Did you see what Scorpius Malfoy's Patronus was?" Rose asked, interrupting Alice's blabbering. Alice stopped for and thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so." she said. "But then again, there were so many Patronus charms it was hard to keep track of them all..." and she started blabbering again, recounting everything that'd happened.  
"Ok everyone!" Professor Longbottom yelled over the noise. "You've done a great job. Now it's up to the ministry workers above the treetops. We have to get back to the castle before dark, so we'll have to walk back quickly to the castle." he turned and started walking towards the trees. The group followed, people talking excitedly to one another as they walked. Alice continued to recount the experience and Rose nodded at various points in her story, looking as if she was interested, but really her mind was thinking of other things.

When they emerged from the trees after their return hike, Rose was surprised to see the sun had almost set. Stars were starting to become visible and only the slightest bit of sunlight remained to illuminate the school grounds. By now, exhaustion was setting in and the chatter had died down. Everyone was solely focussed on putting one foot in front of the other as they trudged up the hill to the castle. Once inside, the group instantly returned to their respective dorms. When Rose reached the Gryffindor common room, she dragged her heavy feet up the stairs and collapsed onto her bed, not even bothering to take off her shoes.


End file.
